School headmistress and husband charged with murder after Indian school poisonings
Meena Kumari and Arjun Rai could face the death penalty if convicted
PUBLISHED : Tuesday, 22 October, 2013, 3:42pm
UPDATED : Tuesday, 22 October, 2013, 3:42pm
Associated Press in Patna
23 schoolchildren died from eating pesticide-contaminated lunches at school. Photo: Reuters
A school headmistress and her husband have been charged with murder after 23 children died from eating pesticide-contaminated lunches in July at the school in eastern India, police said on Tuesday.
The trial of Meena Kumari and her husband was expected to begin soon, said police officer Varun Kumar Sinha. They were arrested and could face the death penalty if convicted.
Investigating police officer Raj Kaushal said the headmistress’ husband, opposition lawmaker Arjun Rai, stored pesticide at the school that was for use at his agricultural farm. The charge sheet filed in a court in Bihar state on Sunday said the chef cooked with it by mistake.
The children who died were between ages 5 and 12.
The school’s cooks have told authorities that the principal controlled the food for the government-provided free daily lunch. One of the cooks told police investigators that the cooking oil appeared different than usual, but that the principal told her to use it anyway.
India’s midday meal plan is one of the world’s biggest school nutrition programmes. State governments have the freedom to decide on menus and timings of the meals, depending on local conditions and availability of food rations. It was first introduced in the 1960s in southern India, where it was seen as an incentive for poor parents to send their children to school.
Although there have been complaints about the quality of the food served and the lack of hygiene, the incident in Bihar appeared to be unprecedented for the massive food programme.
