Following the controversy sparked by a notice allegedly issued by the "Hygiene Committee" of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay, which added to the debate on purism and dietary racism at the prestigious engineering institute, a new set of photos has surfaced on social media, escalating the controversy further.

These pictures, uploaded on the social media platform Instagram by the Ambedkar Periyar Phule Study Circle (APPSC) of IIT Bombay yesterday, August 14, show a rat eating food out of plates inside the institute’s mess. In another picture, a dog can be seen inside the mess area.

Commenting on the ongoing controversy, the APPSC wrote, “Rats and dogs eating from the plates doesn't bother the hygiene committee. Eating non-veg food is the most unhygienic thing imaginable according to their casteist logic.”

The said notice by IIT’s ‘hygiene committee’, which caught the eye of netizens recently, read “Amul Canteen is a pure-vegetarian eatery. Bringing non-vegetarian stuff even in the canteen’s dining area is strictly not allowed.”

It can be recalled that this is not the first time that the IIT Bombay has been involved in allegations of ‘food discrimination’ and casteism.

Last year, a similar controversy erupted when the institute introduced a segregated dining area for non-vegetarian students, imposing a hefty fine of Rs 10,000 on students who protested by sitting in the vegetarian section with non-vegetarian food.