Pesticide in Bihar midday meal,toll 22

The government has ordered an administrative probe.

Bihar DGP Abhayanand said: Now that the presence of a pesticide in the midday meal has been confirmed,we are looking at all angles,including that of conspiracy. An FIR has been lodged against the school principal,who is absconding.

All the children who have died or were taken ill were between 6 and 10 years of age. Sources said principal Meena Rai,who was supposed to eat the food first,tasted only the rice and not the soyabean curry,which seems to have made the children ill.

Villagers alleged that school cook Manju Devi,who is now battling for life at PMCH after having eaten the meal,had alerted the principal about the soyabean turning blackish after being put in the oil. But the principal allegedly asked her to pay no attention.

Manju Devis three children died after eating the midday meal.

Police have collected samples of the food and seized a plastic can in which the oil used to cook the soyabean curry had been stored. Principal Rai allegedly purchased supplies for the midday meal from a shop owned by her husband Arjun Rai,but several villagers pointed out that had the oil sold loose been contaminated,complaints would likely have come from Arjun Rais other customers as well.

At a press conference in Patna,minister Shahi said,Though the administration and the police are probing,the incident smacks of a political conspiracy. The police may get vital leads once the principal is arrested.

Shahi suggested that the opposition RJD might be in some way involved. Arjun Rai,the husband of the school headmistress,had supplied the food material… He is an active member of a party and cousin of local leader Dhruv Rai of Mashrakh,who is close to a prominent leader of a party, he said,without naming the RJD.

RJD chief Lalu Prasad,who visited the children at PMCH,described the incident as tragic and accused Chief Minister Nitish Kumar of being busy saving his chair and fighting with his erstwhile NDA partner BJP,while leaving the people to their fate.

RJD secretary general Ramkripal Yadav said the people were now fed up with the CMs insensitivity

Speaking later,Lalu hit back at Shahis allegation: You are the government and it is the duty of your child development project officer to do quality checks of food served… There are so many people linked with the party (RJD) at several levels. Has the RJD stopped you from inquiring against anybody? Are we running the government in the state?

LJPs Ramvilas Paswan demanded Nitishs resignation and a probe by a sitting judge of a high court. State PCC chief Ashok Chaudhary said the government could not escape blame. Congress workers burnt the chief minister in effigy at Patnas busy Dak Bungalow crossing.

BJP leader and former deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi visited PMCH along with Leader of Opposition Nand Kishore Yadav and state party president Mangal Pandey. He told reporters that if the CM was not well,he should at least have sent a minister to enquire after the condition of the children.

Nitish Kumar has fractured a toe and has been advised rest.

In Chhapra,four police and administration vehicles were set on fire and officials are not able to reach the village. The school and its kitchen were ransacked.

In Patna,some womens groups attacked the state office of the midday meal scheme. They broke flowerpots and vandalised furniture.

Villagers said that the school hardly ever saw a visit by an inspector. They said that two goats and a cow that ate the food dumped behind the school had died. We want the truth to come out. Why would anyone want to kill our children? said Manoj,a graduate from the village.

Dr Nigam Prakash of PMCH said the victims had been responding to anti-poison drugs.

In Delhi,Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar called for an in-depth inquiry into the tragedy. The National Human Rights Commission took suo motu cognizance of the deaths of the children,and asked the Bihar government to submit a report within four weeks.

(With PTI Inputs)

50 kids taken ill after midday meal in Madhubani

Around 50 children of a government school in Madhubani took ill after eating their midday meal on Wednesday. The students alleged there was a dead lizard in their meal. All students were out of danger. PTI