Bihar midday meal deaths: ‘Insecticide in food or cooking oil’

A woman sits at a hospital in Patna on Thursday beside a child who fell ill after eating school midday meal at Chapra in Bihar’s Saran district.

Patna Medical College Hospital superintendent Amarkant Jha Amar on Thursday said post-mortem reports on the 22 children who died after eating mid-day meal at Chapra in Saran district of Bihar show that insecticide was either in the food or cooking oil.

Dr. Amar said results of the chemical analysis of the ingredients seized from the school were still pending on Thursday.

Dr. Amar also said the 25 children and a cook still being treated in the hospital are unlikely to suffer from any serious after effects of eating the food.