COIMBATORE: A 48-year-old man was arrested on Thursday (September 3) night for instigating a Class VIII girl to buy cow-dung powder and mix it with sambar to be served for breakfast to students at a government middle school in Sathyamangalam in Erode.
The school has around 50 students.
On August 31, a teacher, who was carrying out the quality check of food prepared for students, noticed that the sambar was unusually yellow.
She informed the headmistress Kumudha, who then quizzed the cook Ponnamma on the quantity of turmeric used in the sambar.
When the cook insisted she used only the usual required quantity, Kumudha sensed something amiss.
School authorities started making inquiries among students, and a Class 8 girl revealed she had mixed cow-dung powder in a portion of the sambar, as directed by Arumugam, the husband of a former school cook.
According to the police, the school had fired Arumugam’s wife over complaints about the quality of food she prepared.
This angered Arumugam. He gave the girl Rs 10 and instructed her to purchase the powder and mix it in the sambar.
The girl spent Rs 5 on snacks and used the remaining money to purchase the cow-dung powder.
However, she mixed it only into a portion of sambar that was kept aside for teachers to taste as part of the regular quality check.
She left the bulk of the sambar meant to be served for students untouched, the police said.
The Sathyamangalam police registered a case and arrested Arumugam on Thursday night.
He has been remanded in judicial custody.