Death by School Lunch

More than a week after , the principal in charge of the school's mid-day meal program has been arrested. that Meena Kumari, who fled when the children started getting sick, had become one of the most wanted fugitives in India. She was on her way to surrender, when authorities detained her. NPR July 24, 2013

"Forensic tests have confirmed that the cooking oil used to prepare the meal of rice, beans, potato curry and soy balls was contaminated with pesticide. Ms. Kumari bought the cooking oil from a store owned by her husband, who might have stored the cooking oil in a container once filled with pesticide, the police said. "Since the only other adult at the school was the school's cook, who also fell deathly ill, Ms. Kumari's departure meant that the ailing children were left to fend for themselves, according to villagers and state officials. Some staggered home to die in the arms of their parents." New York Times

The village of Gandaman is 87 miles from Patna, the capital of the Bihar. But the trip takes five hours because the road is so terrible. The parents believe that lack of hospitals, poor highways and insufficient medical supplies cost them their children’s lives.

Makeshwar Ram buried his grandson in the front yard of the elementary school as a protest. He said, it is inconceivable that their impoverished community could ever influence the top politicians of the state. The principal was charged with murder and criminal conspiracy.

The only six children who survived had been sent outside to stand under the hot sun. One of their grandmothers saw them in distress and and took them to her home. It was the principal who sent them outside as punishment.