Row in AMU as students allege served food cooked in oil used for non-veg dishes

A controversy erupted in the Aligarh Muslim University Monday after a group of vegetarian students alleged that they were served food cooked in oil used to prepare non-vegetarian dishes, a charge denied by the university.

Students at the Sir Syed Hall (North), in a letter to the vice chancellor, alleged that they were served vegetarian food cooked in the same oil in which non-vegetarian meals had been made. They demanded action against the provost for negligence.

The matter came to light on Sunday when Bhartiya Yuva Morcha's city unit chief Nikhil Maheshwari issued a statement alleging that the incident was a "deliberate ploy" to hurt the sentiments of Hindus.

A written complaint was also filed at the Banna Devi police station on Sunday.

The university authorities, however, vehemently denied the allegations.

AMU spokesman Shafey Kidwai said preliminary inquiries conducted by the provost revealed that the allegation was "completely baseless".

He said respect for religious sentiments of all students was the hallmark of the university's secular traditions from the time of its foundation.

Kidwai said four members of the cooking staff have confirmed to the university that "fresh cooking oil released by the kitchen stock was used for cooking the entire vegetarian meal".