Kendrapara: The district administration has suspended an official of the school and mass education department and showcaused four others for allegedly bungling midday meal grains.

Disciplinary action has been initiated after a departmental inquiry prima facie found the allegations of diversion of at least 540 rice packets earmarked for noon meal for school children to be true, said Kendrapara collector Reghu G.

Midday meal additional nodal officer Rabindra Nath Behari in charge of Derabish block has been suspended. Four other staff of school and mass education department have also been accused of perpetrating the midday meal diversion. They have been served showcause notices. Penal action will be taken against them after the findings of a separate probe that has been ordered, said an official.

Besides, the transport agency has been asked to pay penalty amounting to Rs 6 lakh for complicity in the midday meal rice diversion. Earlier, a driver of a truck carrying the meal rice was arrested by Rajnagar police for unloading the rice at an unauthorised spot.

Earlier, a headmistress of a government-run upper primary school had been suspended for submitting fictitious daily reports regarding midday meal intake of students.

Ranjita Behera, the headmistress of government-run Karanja Upper Primary School in Mahakalpada block, had inflated the students' attendance and meal quota.

The accused headmistress had sent the daily report of 130 students turning up at the school. The report sent to state midday meal online portal showed all the 130 students taking part in the noon meal. However on scrutiny, it was detected that only 28 students had turned up at the school.

School and mass education sources said that 1.62 lakh students were enrolled in 1,900 government schools in the district. The overall enrolment (1.62 lakh) figure is being believed to be on a higher side.