PATNA: As many as 20 school children in India have died after allegedly succumbing to food poisoning from a mid-day meal served by their school near the city of Chhapra in the northern state of Bihar.
“The doctors did their best to save the children, but there was so much poison in their food that the doctors couldn’t save them all,” said Abhijeet Sinha, Chhapra’s District Magistrate. Most of the children who died were under ten years of age, reports NDTV.
Another 35 children were admitted to a local hospital. The school children fell ill after consuming a meal of rice and vegetables, sources told The Times of India.
Villagers believed that the mustard oil used to cook the vegetables was “foul smelling” and could be the culprit behind the deadly reaction.
Lalu Prasad, a local MP, has said that the deaths were a result of poor quality food being supplied by an NGO in collusion with education department officials.
Authorities have suspended a food inspector and registered a case of criminal negligence against the school headmaster.
