Mirzapur: A week before the roti-salt video, students were given only rice and salt       

On Tuesday, journalist Pawan Jaiswal was arrested on the charges of criminal conspiracy for him recording a video of a government primary school serving only roti and salt under the midday meal scheme. A correspondent from Jansandesh Times, Mirzapur, Pawan is now booked along with the pradhan pratinidhi of the village Seur.

A cook from the school, Rukmani, whose daughter also studies in the same school, told Indian Express that this is not the first time a sub-standard meal was served in the school. A week before this incident, the cook said the students had been served rice-salt.

She said to the Indian Express, “Rice and salt was served around a week before the journalist came and shot the video. That day, I told the headmaster in charge Murari Lal about the lack of supplies and that rice and salt is being served. He told me to shut up and said nobody will believe children if they say rice and salt was served.” Rukmani is also one of the two cooks for the midday meal scheme at the school. Murari Lal denied the allegation.

Kailash is another resident of the village, whose daughter studies in this school. He has also confirmed these allegations and said to the Indian Express that it was not the first time a meal with no nutrition has been provided.

Kailash alleges that it is always salt with roti or rice. “That’s the first thing she tells me after coming back from school. On two days, she told me about eating just salt with rice or roti,” said Kailash to the Indian Express.

An FIR has been registered at the Ahraura police station in Mirzapur, and Jaiswal and the Seur pradhan pratinidhi Rajkumar Pal have been booked under criminal conspiracy; based on a complaint by Block Education Officer (BEO) Prem Shankar Rai.

According to Indian Express, District Magistrate Anurag Patel, when asked why the journalist has been booked, said, “The way to report news is different. I will make you hear the video where a person is heard calling him and saying that I am conspiring and you come and help me make this video viral. He is a print journalist and could have taken photographs. He could have written about what was being done there. He did not do so, and hence his role seems doubtful and therefore, he has been booked under IPC section 120-B (criminal conspiracy),” said Patel.

According to the Indian Express, the FIR states that Rajkumar Pal knew that only rotis were prepared in the school because vegetables had run out. But he allegedly conspired with local journalist Pawan Jaiswal so he could take a video and circulate it to the media to malign the image of the school and the mid-day meals, thereby maligning the state government’s image.