78 college students in Chhattisgarh given anti-rabies injections after canine contaminates mid-day meal; probe on

A complete of 78 college students from a government-run college in #Chhattisgarh’s Balodabazar district had been administered anti-rabies vaccine after they ate mid-day meals contaminated by a stray canine, an official has mentioned.

The incident occurred on July 29 at Government Middle School in Lachchhanpur underneath Palari block, and a probe is underway into the chain of occasions, he mentioned on Saturday (August 2, 2025).

“A stray dog contaminated cooked vegetables that were to be served to school students as part of their mid-day meal. Some of the students informed the teachers about the incident. Teachers had asked the self-help group that cooked the food not to serve it, but they went ahead, claiming it was not contaminated,” he mentioned.

The official mentioned no less than 84 college students had meals.

The college students then narrated the incident to their households, after which folks and villagers approached the varsity, together with its administration committee chairperson Jhalendra Sahu, for clarification, mentioned Umashankar Sahu, father of one of many college students.

The villagers sought the elimination of the SHG for ignoring directions to not serve the allegedly contaminated meals, he mentioned.

Parents took the youngsters to the closest well being centre, and 78 of them had been administered the anti-rabies vaccine.

“The anti-rabies vaccine was administered as a precautionary measure, not because of confirmed infection. There is no side effect of the first dose. It was done on the demand of villagers, parents and SMC [school management committee] members,” mentioned Lachhanpur well being centre in cost #Veena Verma.

On Saturday, Sub-Divisional Magistrate Deepak Nikunj and block schooling officer Naresh Verma, together with different officers, visited the varsity to probe into the matter. They recorded statements of the youngsters, dad and mom, lecturers and college administration committee members.

However, members of the SHG didn’t be part of the investigation, the official added.

Meanwhile, native MLA Sandeep Sahu wrote to Chief Minister #Vishnu Deo Sai demanding a probe into the incident and motion in opposition to the culprits. He additionally sought to know on whose directions the youngsters got anti-rabies injections.