New Delhi, Sep 14 — The Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI) has constituted a four-member committee to investigate an incident of alleged presence of a lizard in a student’s food bowl at the mess of the university's school hostel, an official said on Monday.
The incident had sparked protests. Hundreds of students demonstrated outside the Vice-Chancellor's office at Jamia Millia Islamia on September 12–13 after the student alleged food contamination incident.
The matter is linked to allegations about the presence of a lizard in a student’s bowl of pulses, and JMI is actively seeking help from government investigating agencies to examine the footage, said an official statement.
The CCTV footage appears to show one of the hostel residents taking his bowl of pulses under a mess table, following which a group of students reportedly created a commotion alleging that a lizard had been found in the bowl, said the statement.
The university administration has decided to have the entire footage examined objectively by the committee, including the circumstances leading up to the incident and the actions and roles of those involved, it said.
The four-member committee has been mandated to ascertain the facts and determine whether the incident was a part of any deliberate attempt to create disruption or bring disrepute to the university’s hostel messes.
The JMI administration expressed concern over what it views as concerted attempts to disturb the normal functioning of its hostels and the larger academic environment through unsubstantiated allegations, misinformation or disruptive activities, including circulation of reels and videos on social media platforms.
The JMI administration has directed that appropriate action shall be taken against individuals involved in the incident, in compliance with applicable rules, in the event that any deliberate wrongdoing, fabrication, misinformation or other misconduct is established, said the statement.
The university emphasised that its hostel messes have been serving students for several decades and that food quality and hygiene are routinely monitored by the hostel administration, including its provosts, wardens, caretakers, as well as well-functioning mess committees comprising hostel residents.
The JMI said that university authorities, including the Vice Chancellor and the Registrar, occasionally have lunch and dinner in the Boys' and Girls' hostel messes in order to keep a check on the food quality.
The university also pointed out that its mess charges remain among the lowest in comparison with other universities in the National Capital Region of Delhi, while continuous efforts were made to maintain high standards of food quality and hygiene.
In order to strengthen transparency and continuous monitoring, the university has decided to install additional CCTV cameras in all its hostel messes as well as in their respective kitchens.
The surveillance system will enable monitoring of food preparation, catering and other related activities in the kitchen and mess areas on a 24 by 7 basis, the statement said.
The JMI appealed to students to refrain from circulating unverified material, including social media content/videos and clips that are deliberately designed to tarnish the reputation of the over 105-year-old institution.