An initial forensic report has confirmed that the free
school lunch that killed 23 children this week
The children fell ill within minutes of eating a meal of
rice and potato curry in their one-room school on Tuesday, vomiting and
convulsing with agonising stomach cramps.
The deaths sparked protests in Bihar. The lunch was part of
India's Mid-Day Meal Scheme that covers 120 million children and aims to tackle
malnutrition and encourage school attendance. It had already drawn widespread
complaints over food safety.
The report found the meal was prepared with cooking oil that
contained monocrotophos, an organophosphorus compound that is used as an agricultural
pesticide, Ravindra Kumar, a senior police official, told reporters.
Police said on Friday they suspected the oil was kept in a
container previously used to store the pesticide.
They are still looking for the headmistress of the school,
who fled after the deaths. The World Health Organisation describes
monocrotophos as highly hazardous.
Culled from: Reuters
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