Keralam teacher arrested for alleging worms found in food at State Sports Meet; Minister alleges conspiracy

Kozhikode A physical education teacher was arrested on Thursday (October 29, 2026) for allegedly making a false claim that worms were found in food served to students attending the State Sports Meet being held in Kozhikode, Keralam, the police said. General Education Minister N. Samsudheen alleged a conspiracy behind the incident and promised department-level action against the teacher.

The arrested person was identified as Jijo James, a teacher at a vocational higher secondary school in Ernakulam district. The State Sports Meet is being held at the NIT Kozhikode ground, with students from all schools under the General Education Department taking part. On Wednesday, Mr. James alleged that worms were found in the food served to students attending the event. The police said the teacher uploaded a Facebook post alleging the misconduct.

Later, student organisation SFI held a protest march, officials said. Following the allegation, the organisers conducted an inspection and found it to be false, the police said. Based on a complaint lodged by Sports Meet convenor P.K. Aravindan, the Kunnamangalam police registered a case against Mr. James on Thursday under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita for allegedly giving provocation with intent to cause a riot.

By evening, the teacher deleted the social media post, officials said. The police took him into custody and later recorded his arrest. As the case is registered under a bailable charge, the teacher would be released on bail, officials said. Further investigation is underway, the police added. Meanwhile, Mr. Samsudheen said the incident appeared to be part of a planned attempt by certain anti-social elements to disrupt the sporting event, which students had prepared for through months and years of training.

“Those trying to disrupt a sports meet organised for our children are anti-social elements. Some people are acting out of other interests, and this is a very bad practice,” he told reporters. Mr. Samsudheen said the organisers had inspected the food following the allegation and found it to be false. He claimed that the incident was not the work of the teacher alone and called for an investigation into the alleged conspiracy.

“The incident was not created by him alone. There are people with an anti-social mindset behind attempts to disrupt the meet, and their role should be investigated,” he said. The Minister, however, said the alleged conspiracy should not necessarily be viewed as a political conspiracy, adding that the conduct of certain people had raised suspicions. Referring to the controversy surrounding the incident, Mr.

Samsudheen also criticised what he described as attempts by some people to create news and disrupt public events.