According to police, up to 76 students were hospitalised on Saturday owing to suspected food poisoning after eating meals prepared for those fasting for Mahashivratri at a private hostel in Uttar Pradesh's Greater Noida.

The students, who are enrolled in various colleges, ate their dinner on Friday, March 8, following which many of them complained of nausea, dizziness, and vomiting, police claimed.

The students were residing at Aryan Residency in the Knowledge Park area, an educational hub, and celebrated Mahashivratri on Friday, March 8, with puris made of kuttu ka atta (buckwheat flour).

Police statement
"The local police are seized of the incident which took place on Friday evening after around 76 students had their dinner and then complained of their stomachs getting upset. All the students were taken to different hospitals and their condition is stable now," police said in a statement.

It further stated that the incident did not raise a law and order problem, and the subject is being looked into. A team from the nearby food safety agency raced to the scene to inspect in the meanwhile.

Students speak
An official told PTI that the team will collect samples of food items and raw materials used to prepare the dinner. The samples would further be analysed and legal proceedings initiated accordingly.

Students said they had dinner which was cooked separately for them owing to their fast.

"We had dinner at around 9.30 pm. I started feeling dizzy by 10.30 pm and then went to sleep. Some friends then noticed that a lot of students had started complaining of dizziness, uneasiness, vomiting," said Piyush, a student recuperating at a private hospital.

"My body started trembling around midnight and I felt feverish and dizzy. Two of my roommates and I were then brought to the emergency department here. Some others in my hostel were vomiting too," another student Kushal told reporters at the Kailash Hospital.