The Uttarakhand government has issued guidelines to reduce incidents of ‘spitting in food’ with fines up to Rs 1 lakh.

The guidelines were issued by the state police and health departments after Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami termed acts such as “thinking (spitting) jihad”, promising strict action against violators .

The recently released guidelines state that police checks must be carried out for staff working in hotels and dhabas, and installation of CCTV cameras in their kitchens is now mandatory.

This follows the recent arrest of two men in Mussoorie, Uttarakhand, for allegedly spitting into glasses of fruit juice before serving them to tourists.

In another incident, a viral video from Dehradun showed a cook allegedly spitting while preparing dough for rotis.

Uttarakhand Health Minister Dhan Singh Rawat stressed that ensuring food safety and purity was a top priority for the government, especially during the festival season.

Following the chief minister’s strict warnings, Director General of Police Abhinav Kumar issued guidelines to district police chiefs to tackle these issues.

The guidelines advise district police to collaborate with local intelligence units to prevent incidents in open areas like kiosks and carts.

The guidelines also call for comprehensive screening of employees in hotels and dhabas, and encourage business owners to install CCTV cameras in kitchens.

The police are also asked to pay special attention to these issues during patrolling and collaborate with the Health and Food Department for random checks at hotels and dhabas.

The DGP said the violators should be charged under Section 274 of the Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita for food adulteration and Section 81 of the Uttarakhand Police Act for public nuisance or spreading false alarms. Hindustan Times reported.

Further, if such acts are found to harm religious, ethnic or linguistic sentiments, relevant sections such as section 196(1)(B) (promotion of enmity) or 299 of the Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita (insult to religious beliefs) should be applied.

State Health Secretary R Rajesh Kumar also issued a standard operating procedure (SOP) imposing strict fines on violators, ranging from Rs 25,000 to Rs 1 lakh.

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