Students at Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar Residential School in Rampur, Forbesganj area of Araria district, created a major disturbance after allegedly finding worms in their food on Saturday last week. The protest quickly escalated into vandalism, with students damaging school property extensively.
The enraged students broke benches, desks, and window panes throughout the school building. They completely destroyed the kitchen facilities and continued their protest for hours before administrative officials and police arrived to control the situation.
Students residing in the school hostel claimed that not only had the quality of food been consistently poor, but now they were being served food containing worms. The administration has taken severe action against the protesters by immediately expelling around 135 students from classes 9 through 12, accusing them of misleading other students about worms in the food and instigating the vandalism.
When contacted about the incident, the District Welfare Officer did not hold back in his assessment of the students involved.
He referred to them as "habitual offenders," claiming that these students frequently create such disturbances and disrupt the academic environment. He stated that calling these students "criminals" would not be an exaggeration considering the extent of damage caused.
The school principal refused to comment on the matter when approached. Meanwhile, Forbesganj SDM Shailja Pandey acknowledged receiving information about the incident and directed queries to the District Welfare Officer.
A large police force has been deployed at the school, and media personnel have been barred from entering the premises. Regarding the expulsion of senior students, District Welfare Officer Ramashankar Kumar confirmed that the students were immediately removed from the school on charges of indiscipline. He accused them of making false allegations and damaging the school management and academic environment. He added that authorities are identifying students responsible for the vandalism and strict action will be taken against them.
A member of the administration, Rakesh Kumar told news agency ANI, "On 16th May, there was a strong storm, and the power went off, due to which a moth fell into a child's food. Based on that, the children created a ruckus and vandalised the school property. They also misbehaved with the cook and immediately informed the higher authorities about this. Action is being taken according to their directions."
