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{{Short description|2013 fatal insecticide poisoning in India}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2020}}
{{Use Indian English|date=April 2020}}
{{Infobox News event
| name = Bihar school meal poisoning incident
| image = India Bihar locator map.svg
| caption = Location of Bihar in India
| place = Dharmasati Mata School,<br />Gandama village,<br />[[Mashrakh]] town,<br /> state of [[Bihar]]<br />{{IND}}
| coordinates = {{Coord|26|06|19|N|84|44|23|E|type:event_region:IN-BR|display=inline,title}}
| date = {{Start date|df=yes|2013|7|16}}
| cause = [[Food adulteration]] and yellow phosphorus poisoning
| reported deaths = 23
| arrests =
| suspects =
| accused =
| charges =
| verdict =
}}

On 16 July 2013, 23–27 students died, and dozens more fell ill at a [[primary school]] in the village of [[Gandaman]] in the [[Saran district]] of the [[India]]n state of [[Bihar]] after eating a [[Midday Meal Scheme|Midday Meal]] contaminated with [[pesticide]].<ref name=BBC2 /><ref name=TimesOfIndia /><ref name=BBC3/> Angered by the deaths and illnesses, villagers took to the streets in many parts of the district in violent protest.<ref name=NYT /> Subsequently, the Bihar government took a series of steps to prevent any recurrence of such incidents.<ref name=bp1/>

== Background ==
Across India, the [[Midday Meal Scheme]] provides roughly 120 million children with free lunch, making it the world's most extensive school lunch program.<ref>{{Cite news |date=17 July 2013 |first=Soutik |last=Biswas |title=Why India's school meal deaths are a terrible tragedy |work=[[BBC News]] |location=London |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-23339206 |access-date=17 July 2013 |archive-date=17 July 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130717235116/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-23339206 |url-status=live}}</ref> In spite of corruption involved in implementing the scheme, it aims to fight widespread poverty and improve children's school attendance and health as a large number of India's children suffer from [[malnutrition]].<ref name=CNN /><ref>{{Cite news |title=Corruption, poor quality taint India school meal scheme |date=19 July 2013 |first1=Sunrita |last1=Sen |first2=Doreen |last2=Fiedler |work=[[Business Recorder]] |location=Karachi |url=http://www.brecorder.com/articles-a-letters/187/1212787/ |access-date=19 July 2013 |archive-date=22 February 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160222071022/http://www.brecorder.com/articles-a-letters/187/1212787/ |url-status=dead}}</ref>

Bihar in northern India is among the nation's poorest states.<ref name=Reuters /> According to [[Mashrakh]] residents, students have suffered from [[food poisoning]] after eating school lunches on multiple occasions.<ref name=BBC /> P. K. Shahi, [[Bihar]]'s education minister, said complaints about food quality were not uncommon, but there had been no reported incidents of widespread food poisoning during his tenure.<ref name=CNN /> The nonprofit [[Hare Krishna Food for Life]] describes the meal programmes in Bihar and neighbouring [[Uttar Pradesh]] as "the worst in India." Public health is poor in general, with most water sources contaminated, and hospitals underfunded.<ref name=NYT />

The primary school Dharmashati-Mata Mandir, in the village of Gandaman, was established in 2010. At the time of the incident, 89 children were registered with the school.<ref>{{cite news |title=Nine children die after mid-day meal in Bihar school |url=http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/nine-children-die-after-midday-meal-in-bihar-school/article4921193.ece |work=[[The Hindu]] |location=Chennai |date=16 July 2013 |access-date=17 July 2013 |archive-date=18 July 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130718102145/http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/nine-children-die-after-midday-meal-in-bihar-school/article4921193.ece |url-status=live}}</ref> The food material for Midday Meals was stored in the residence of the headmistress as the school did not have sufficient infrastructure for storage.<ref name=Hindu />

== Incident ==
On 16 July 2013, children aged between four and twelve years at the Dharmashati Mata primary school complained that their lunch, served as a part of the Midday Meal Scheme, tasted odd.<ref name=NYT>{{cite news |title=Contaminated Lunches Kill 22 Children in India |first1=Gardiner |last1=Harris |first2=Hari |last2=Kumar |work=[[The New York Times]] |location=New York City |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/18/world/asia/children-die-from-tainted-lunches-at-indian-school.html |date=17 July 2013 |access-date=17 July 2013 |archive-date=18 July 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130718165726/http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/18/world/asia/children-die-from-tainted-lunches-at-indian-school.html |url-status=live}}</ref> The headmistress rebuked children who questioned the food.<ref name=CNN /> Earlier, headmistress Meena Kumari had been informed by the school's cook that the new cooking oil was discoloured and smelled odd.<ref name=BBC /> Kumari replied that the oil was purchased at a local grocery store and safe to use.<ref name=Reuters>{{cite news |title=Contaminated school meal kills 25 Indian children |work=[[Reuters]] |location=New York City |date=17 July 2013 |first1=Annie |last=Banerji |first2=Mayank |last2=Bhardwaj |first3=Anurag |last3=Kotoky |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-india-chidren-poison-idUSBRE96G0AY20130717 |access-date=17 July 2013 |archive-date=17 July 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130717203115/http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/07/17/us-india-chidren-poison-idUSBRE96G0AY20130717 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=BBC /> The cook, who was also hospitalized by the poisoning, later told reporters that it looked like there was "an accumulation of residual waste at the bottom [of the oil jar]".<ref name=Reuters /> The meal cooked at the school that day consisted of soya beans, rice and potato curry.<ref name=Reuters />

Thirty minutes after eating the meal, the children complained of stomach pain and soon after were taken ill with [[vomiting]] and [[diarrhoea]]. The number of sick children overwhelmed the school and the local medical system. Some of the sick children were sent home, forcing their parents to seek help on their own.<ref name=NYT /> According to the official count, 23 children died as a result of the contaminated food.<ref name=BBC2/> Parents and local villagers said at least 27 had died.<ref name=TimesOfIndia /> Sixteen children died on-site, and four others were declared dead upon arrival at the local hospital. Others died in hospital. Among the dead were two children of one of the schools cooks, Panna Devi; her third child survived.<ref name=Hindu>{{cite news |title=Death toll rises to 22 |url=http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/death-toll-rises-to-22/article4924937.ece |work=[[The Hindu]] |location=Chennai |access-date=17 July 2013 |date=17 July 2013 |archive-date=19 July 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130719222826/http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/death-toll-rises-to-22/article4924937.ece |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=sick>{{cite news |title=At least 23 more Indian children treated after getting sick at school lunch |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2013/07/19/world/asia/india-school-meal-poisoning |access-date=20 July 2013 |work=[[CNN]] |location=Atlanta |date=20 July 2013 |archive-date=27 July 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130727094908/http://edition.cnn.com/2013/07/19/world/asia/india-school-meal-poisoning/ |url-status=live}}</ref> A total of 48 students fell ill from the contaminated food. Three remained in a critical condition as of 17 July.<ref name=Reuters /> Thirty-one children were moved from the local hospital to [[Patna Medical College Hospital]] (PMCH) for further treatment.<ref name=CNN />

== Cause ==
Initial indications were that the food was contaminated by an [[organophosphate]], a class of chemicals commonly found in [[insecticide]]s, [[pesticide]]s and [[herbicide]]s.<ref name=CNN>{{cite news |url=http://www.cnn.com/2013/07/17/world/asia/india-school-meal-poisoning/index.html |title=School meals tainted with poison kill 22 children in Indian village |first1=Aloke |last1=Devichand |first2=Tim |last2=Hume |work=[[CNN]] |location=Atlanta |date=17 July 2013 |access-date=17 July 2013 |archive-date=17 July 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130717120245/http://www.cnn.com/2013/07/17/world/asia/india-school-meal-poisoning/index.html |url-status=live}}</ref> A local government administrator commented "It appears to be a case of poisoning but we will have to wait for forensic reports ... Had it been a case of natural food poisoning, so many children would not have died."<ref name=Reuters /> Dr Amar Kant Jha, superintendent of PMCH in [[Patna]], said that the survivors were emitting toxic vapours, which led his team to suspect almost immediately that they had been poisoned with an organophosphate.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=204422677 |title=Police hunt for principal after Indian school lunch deaths |last=McCarthy |first=Julie |publisher=[[NPR]] |date=2013-07-24 |access-date=3 April 2018 |archive-date=2 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181202021806/https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=204422677 |url-status=live}}</ref>

Late on 17 July, officials stated that they believed the cooking oil had been placed in a container formerly used to store insecticides.<ref name=NYT /> According to state officials, the school's headmistress had bought the cooking oil used in the food from a grocery store owned by her husband.<ref name=BBC2/> On 20 July police said that a forensic report confirmed the cooking oil contained "very toxic" levels of [[monocrotophos]], an agricultural pesticide.<ref name=BBC3>{{cite news |title=India school lunch deaths: high pesticide levels found |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-23390972 |work=[[BBC News]] |location=London |date=20 July 2013 |access-date=20 June 2018 |archive-date=31 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190731234028/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-23390972 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |title=India school lunch deaths: pesticide found |date=20 July 2013 |work=[[The Guardian]] |location=London |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/jul/20/india-school-meal-deaths-bihar-pesticide |access-date=20 July 2013 |archive-date=5 September 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130905101926/http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/jul/20/india-school-meal-deaths-bihar-pesticide |url-status=live}}</ref>

== Reactions ==
Nineteen of the children's bodies were buried on or near school grounds in protest. Across Bihar, numerous students refused to eat their meals in the days following the incident.<ref name=BBC2>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-23353017 |title=India lunch deaths children buried in Bihar school |work=[[BBC News]] |location=London |date=18 July 2013 |access-date=18 July 2013 |archive-date=18 July 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130718164216/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-23353017 |url-status=live}}</ref> On 17 July, hundreds of Mashrakh residents took to the streets in protest.<ref name=BBC /> Demonstrators lit fires and burned effigies of Bihar Chief Minister [[Nitish Kumar]].<ref name=Reuters /> The flames damaged four police vehicles.<ref name=BBC /> Others threw stones at the police station and chanted slogans denouncing the government.<ref name=Reuters /> Some villagers demanded that the Midday Meal program be scrapped.<ref name=TimesOfIndia>{{cite news |url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Poison-theory-floats-as-Bihar-midday-meal-kills-27-kids/articleshow/21130119.cms |title=Poison theory floats as Bihar midday meal kills 27 kids |work=[[The Times of India]] |location=Mumbai |date=18 July 2013 |access-date=18 July 2013 |archive-date=19 July 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130719210204/http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Poison-theory-floats-as-Bihar-midday-meal-kills-27-kids/articleshow/21130119.cms |url-status=live}}</ref> Angry protesters carrying sticks and poles blocked roads and rail lines.<ref name=BBC /> Desks and chairs from the school were taken and smashed, while the kitchen area was destroyed.<ref name=TimesOfIndia /> In nearby [[Chhapra]], multiple arson attacks were reported, including reports that a crowd set fire to a bus, but no injuries were reported from either city.<ref name=BBC2 /><ref name=TimesOfIndia /><ref name=NYT /><ref name=BBC>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-23342003 |title=Violent protests in India over school meal deaths |work=[[BBC News]] |location=London |date=17 July 2013 |access-date=17 July 2013 |archive-date=17 July 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130717164007/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-23342003 |url-status=live}}</ref>

Bihar State Education Minister Shahi commented that many people involved in the program were looking for easy money and that "it is just not possible to taste meals in all the 73,000 schools before children eat the food."<ref name=NYT /> He also alleged that the contaminated oil had been purchased from a member of a rival political party.<ref name=TimesOfIndia /> Opposition party members accused the ruling [[Janata Dal (United)]] party of acting too slowly<ref name=Reuters /> and called for a general strike.<ref name=CNN />

The Bihar government promised a thorough investigation and offered [[Indian rupee|INR]] 200,000 ([[United States dollar|US$]]3,400) compensation for families of the dead children. Kumar called an emergency meeting and dispatched forensic experts to Mashrakh.<ref name=BBC /> The headmistress and her husband fled after the deaths became public knowledge, and the administrative authority suspended her.<ref name=Reuters /><ref name=BBC /> A [[First Information Report]] was filed against the headmistress for [[criminal negligence]], and police began searching for her. A district magistrate told the BBC that her property would be confiscated if she did not surrender to the authorities.<ref name=BBC3/><ref name=Hindu /> She was apprehended by police in [[Chhapra]] on 24 July and held on suspicion of murder and criminal conspiracy.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Indian headteacher arrested after fatal school food poisoning: Meena Devi is arrested while travelling to court to hand herself in a week after tragedy left 23 children dead |first1=Jason |last1=Burke |first2=Manoj |last2=Chaurasia |work=[[The Guardian]] |location=London |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/jul/24/indian-food-poisoning-school-headteacher-arrested |access-date=19 July 2014 |date=24 July 2013 |archive-date=25 July 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140725184415/http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/jul/24/indian-food-poisoning-school-headteacher-arrested |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |title=India school poisonings: Principal arrested on murder charge |first=Mark |last=Magnier |date=24 July 2013 |work=[[Los Angeles Times]] |location=Los Angeles |url=http://www.latimes.com/news/world/worldnow/la-fg-wn-india-school-food-poisoning-20130724,0,4520779.story |access-date=24 July 2013 |archive-date=25 July 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130725005528/http://www.latimes.com/news/world/worldnow/la-fg-wn-india-school-food-poisoning-20130724,0,4520779.story |url-status=live}}</ref> In October 2013 the headmistress and her husband were charged with murder and faced the death penalty if convicted.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |title=India school meal deaths: headteacher and husband charged with murder |date=22 October 2013 |work=[[The Guardian]] |location=London |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/oct/22/india-school-meal-deaths-headteacher-charged-murder |access-date=19 July 2014 |archive-date=25 July 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140725194011/http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/oct/22/india-school-meal-deaths-headteacher-charged-murder |url-status=live}}</ref>

==Aftermath==
[[Bihar Government]] has taken steps to prevent the recurrence of such incidents. The government issued a [[Toll-free telephone number|toll-free number]] for all complaints related to Midday Meal. It also ordered that the raw grain samples would be kept for three months at Godowns from where items for Midday Meal are supplied.<ref name="bp1">{{cite web |title=Bihar Government to introduce Toll Free Number for Mid Day Meal |url=http://news.biharprabha.com/2013/09/bihar-government-to-introduce-toll-free-number-for-mid-day-meal/ |access-date=30 September 2013 |archive-date=8 September 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130908093412/http://news.biharprabha.com/2013/09/bihar-government-to-introduce-toll-free-number-for-mid-day-meal/ |url-status=live}}</ref> A case was filed by Akhilanand Mishra (one of the victims). On 29 August 2016, headmistress Meena Kumari was sentenced to 17 years in prison for her role in the incident.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Singh |first1=Rohit |title=Bihar: School principal sentenced to 17 years in prison for mid-day meal tragedy |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/chhapra-mid-day-meal-tragedy-principal-sentenced-to-imprisonment-337901-2016-08-29 |access-date=16 July 2019 |date=29 August 2016 |archive-date=16 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190716014245/https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/chhapra-mid-day-meal-tragedy-principal-sentenced-to-imprisonment-337901-2016-08-29 |url-status=live}}</ref>

== Notes and references ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

{{Disasters in India in 2013}}
{{Portal bar|India}}

[[Category:2013 disasters in India]]
[[Category:2013 health disasters]]
[[Category:Academic meals]]
[[Category:Child deaths by poisoning]]
[[Category:Corruption in India]]
[[Category:Deaths by poisoning]]
[[Category:Disasters in Bihar]]
[[Category:Disasters in schools]]
[[Category:Health disasters in India]]
[[Category:Mass poisonings]]
[[Category:Saran district]]
[[Category:Crime in Bihar]]
[[Category:Food safety scandals]]
[[Category:July 2013 in India]]
[[Category:2010s in Bihar]]
[[Category:Toxic effects of pesticides]]

Bihar school meal poisoning incident - Revision history

Veronasie at 07:57, 5 May 2026