Case registered against food outlet after students fall ill

The Khar police registered a case against food outlet Box8 which supplied food to Thadomal Shahani College and Lala Lajpatrai College from where 17 students had

The Khar police registered a case against food outlet Box8 which supplied food to Thadomal Shahani College and Lala Lajpatrai College from where 17 students had to be rushed to hospital after they suffered food poisoning on Thursday.

The students were attending an awareness programme on a permanent seat for India at the United Nations Security Council, which was organised by Indian International Model United Nations (a non-profit organisation). The event was held across several colleges in the city.

“The organisers had placed the order for food online, which was cooked at Box8’s kitchen that is located in Thane. The food was transported to the locations in packets,” said an officer from Khar police station.

The police said at least 1,000 students were present at the venues for the event that was scheduled between 10am and 6pm, with a lunch break post noon. The Tardeo police, meanwhile, collected food samples from the packets and sent them to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The reports are awaited.

“We have recorded the statements of most of the students at Lala Lajpatrai College, the organisers and the outlet that provided food,” said Dnyanesh Devde, senior inspector of Tardeo police station. The police said the outlet claimed the food had been freshly cooked.

The Khar police have registered a case under sections 273 (sale of noxious food or drink), 338 (causing grievous hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others) of the Indian Penal Code.

An official statement from Box8 said: “We are deeply concerned about the news report of illness caused to some students yesterday. Box8 maintains a rigourous quality process through preparation of food and delivery system, including tasting the food before serving, which too was followed yesterday without any adverse results. Matter is being inquired by the authorities and we have been fully co-operating to identify the cause. Once the cause is identified Box8 will spare no efforts to deal with the same.”