A Class 5 student on Tuesday died and more than 100 fell ill after eating allegedly contaminated or stale food at a government-run Adivasi residential school in Odisha’s Mayurbhanj district, ANI reported.
On Tuesday, the students of the Kakabandha Ashram School in the district’s Rasgovindpur block on Sunday complained of discomfort and fell ill after eating a meal that included fermented rice or “pakhala”, mashed potatoes and mango chutney, The New Indian Express reported.
The dishes were “not mentioned in the authorised menu”, PTI quoted unidentified officials as having claimed.
More than 100 students were taken to healthcare facilities. Sixty-seven of them were transferred to hospital in Baripada in critical condition, PTI reported.
Among them, Rupali Besra, who was admitted in the intensive care unit on Monday, died a day later during treatment, the news agency quoted Mayurbhanj District Collector Hema Kanta Say as saying.
A police case has been registered based on a complaint filed by Besra’s mother, Say added.
The school’s headteacher, Jayant Kumar Panigrahi, has been suspended for negligence on duty, PTI reported.
On Tuesday, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi expressed grief and announced a compensation of Rs 3 lakh to her family.
Karanjia Sub Collector Dayasindhu Parida told ANI that the government will provide Rs 7 lakh ex-gratia to the family of the student.
The residents of the area where the student belonged clashed with the police during her funeral on Tuesday, ANI reported. They attacked the police vehicle carrying her body with firecrackers and tried to block the funeral procession, demanding justice and enhanced compensation.
The police resorted to lathi-charge to control the situation, the news agency reported.
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