The physical education teacher alleged in a Facebook post that worms were found in food served at the event. Organisers found the allegation to be false, police said, while Keralam General Education Minister N Samsudheen alleged a larger conspiracy to disrupt the meet and warned of departmental action against the teacher.Keralam General Education Minister alleged that the incident could be part of a larger conspiracy to disrupt the sporting event and said departmental action would be taken against the teacher. (Representative image)Kozhikode,Oct 29, 2026 10:41 ISTA physical education teacher was arrested on Thursday for allegedly falsely claiming that worms were found in food served to students at the State Sports Meet in Kozhikode, police said.The arrested teacher, identified as Jijo James, works at a vocational higher secondary school in Ernakulam district.
Police said he had made the allegation in a Facebook post on Wednesday. Organisers subsequently inspected the food and found the claim to be false, they said.Following the allegation, the Students’ Federation of India (SFI) held a protest march, officials said.
The Kunnamangalam police registered a case against James based on a complaint filed by Sports Meet Convenor P K Aravindan. He was booked under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita for allegedly giving provocation with the intent to cause a riot.
As the offence is bailable, he is expected to be released on bail, police said.By Thursday evening, James had deleted the social media post, officials added. Keralam General Education Minister N Samsudheen alleged that the incident could be part of a larger conspiracy to disrupt the sporting event and said departmental action would be taken against the teacher.“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,” the minister told reporters. Samsudheen said the alleged conspiracy should not necessarily be viewed as political, but added that the conduct of certain people had raised suspicions.
He also criticised attempts to disrupt public events and said the government should be allowed to complete its five-year democratic mandate.The minister condemned the alleged assault on media personnel covering the incident, saying nobody had the right to attack journalists and that action would be taken after examining the circumstances.The State Sports Meet, being held at the NIT Kozhikode ground, features students from schools under the General Education Department. Samsudheen said the event was progressing smoothly, with new records being set, and expressed confidence that it would conclude as scheduled on October 31.On complaints over the age eligibility of participants, particularly those from other states, the minister said verification had been tightened and medical examinations conducted.
He added that action would be taken against students found to have submitted fabricated age documents, as well as schools and teachers who allegedly helped them. Stricter age-verification measures would be enforced in future competitions, he said.Further investigation into the case is underway.- Ends