Pune: 60 students suffer food poisoning at coaching facility, probe on

PUNE RURAL police have launched a probe after 60 students including boys and girls suffered food poisoning at a residential coaching facility in Khed taluka in the early hours of Saturday.

Officials from Khed police station under Pune Rural Police said the incident took place at Dakshana Foundation, which is a residential coaching facility for underprivileged students who are preparing for IIT Joint Entrance Exam (JEE) and National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET). The facility is located in Kadus village in Khed taluka, located around 55 km from Pune City.

Inspector Rajkumar Kendre, in-charge of Khed police station, said, “There are around 600 students in the age group of 18 to 20 years—400 boys and 200 girls—who are receiving coaching for JEE and NEET at Dakshana Foundation. On Friday night they were served dinner, and early Saturday morning many of them began showing symptoms of food poisoning including headaches, nausea, diarrhea, fever and bodyache, following which 60 students had to be hospitalised. As of Sunday morning, eight are still in hospital but their condition is stable.”