Twenty-two children have died while dozens are still in the hospital under critical condition after eating a free school lunch that was contaminated with insecticide.
The Indian officials reported on Wednesday in AP that they are still investigating how the food got contaminated which affected students, with ages between five and 12, from the eastern state of Bihar. However, there were allegations that the food may not have been properly washed or served before it was cooked.
The free lunch which includes rice, soybeans, lentils, and potatoes was served on Tuesday in the Gandamal village in Masrakh block, 50 miles north of the state capital of Patna. Some were still eating but were asked by the school officials to stop when they saw that some were already vomiting. They felt pain from their stomach before they started vomiting.
The students were brought to Patna Medical College Hospital.
The free school lunch is part of the national campaign to provide at least one hot meal to children from poor families on a daily basis. It was cooked inside the school canteen. The school administration also suspended whoever was in charge of the free meal plan. The school’s headmistress, who immediately fled in the height of the children’s illness, will also have to face a criminal case due to negligence.
The villagers immediately protested in response to this issue and had burned four police cars.
Initial investigation revealed that the food may have been contaminated with organophosphate—an insecticide found on rice and wheat crops. It may be removed so long as they wash the grains carefully but it seemed that it wasn’t what happened during that day.
The villagers pointed out that it may be the potatoes and soybeans because those who ate only the rice and lentils were not affected.
State official Abhijit Sinha had told AP that the police had already confiscated all the remaining cooked food and cooking utensils as part of their investigation.
