Khordha: Midday meal supplies, including rice, pulses, oil and turmeric, were recovered from beneath the ground at Achyutpur Government Upper Primary School under the Tangi education block in Khordha district Friday. Following the incident, three cooks allegedly involved in the matter were removed from service.
After being informed, police reached the spot and launched an investigation after tension erupted on the school premises.
According to reports, cooks responsible for preparing the midday meal allegedly served substandard food to students while secretly diverting food supplies for personal use. Suspicions arose after students were reportedly served poor-quality food.
Acting on suspicion, members of the school management committee, along with several villagers, conducted a surprise inspection at the school. Upon finding the midday meal to be of poor quality, they searched the kitchen premises.
During search, they noticed a pile of firewood stacked near the cooking area and asked the cooks to remove it. After digging the ground beneath the spot, they allegedly recovered more than 4 kg of rice, around 1,800 grams of pulses, along with oil and turmeric, hidden inside plastic bags.
Following incident, a meeting was held on the school premises in the presence of teachers, members of the school management committee, parents, villagers and the local sarpanch. It was resolved to remove the three cooks and appoint new cooks from next Monday, the acting headmistress said.