Patna:
A forensic report on whether free lunch served to school children in Bihar's Chhapra on Tuesday was poisoned will be submitted today. 23 children died after consuming the mid-day meal while 25 others are still in hospital; three are in critical condition.
The Nitish Kumar government has already said that the incident seems to be "a deliberate case of poisoning", with initial reports suggesting that the food was allegedly laced with organophosphates used in insecticides.
Even as the government awaits the results of the tests from the State Forensic Science Laboratory (SLFL), no arrests have been made in the case. Police conducted raids on Wednesday night across the local district of Saran as part of its hunt for Meena Devi, the headmistress of the school, who fled after students started falling ill. Her husband, who reportedly provided groceries to the school for the mid-day meals, is also on the run.
According to State Education Minister PK Shahi, one of the cooks, Manju Devi, had complained to the headmistress about the smell of the oil before the meals were served but the latter dismissed those concerns. The cook, too, fell ill and is currently undergoing treatment.
Local officials say the couple's interrogation could help identify whether the insecticide that poisoned the children was in the food or the cooking oil.
Faced with intense criticism, the Bihar government has now instructed all teachers and cooks in the state to first taste the free lunches before it is served to children.
Immediately after the disaster in Chhapra, several similar cases were reported from across the country, where children fell ill after eating the meals at school, thus highlighting the fatal risks posed by the government's school nutrition scheme, the largest in the world.
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