An India principal arrested Wednesday was found while she was apparently on her way to court to surrender herself.
Meena Kumari was the principal of an eastern Indian primary school, where 23 children had died due to food poisoned with deadly pesticides. As the principal, she had reportedly commanded the cook to continue lunch preparations even though she complained of the foul smell coming from the oil. The cook was also transported to the hospital as she had also consumed the lunch.
Bihar state's chief minister, Nitish Kumar, promised to enact judgment to all that was guilty of the tragedy, saying, "No one will be spared." Kumar then also claimed that the government officials are creating new policies that will prevent the tragedy from striking again.
India School Meal: Impoverished Elementary School's Daily Real-Life X-Factor? Death Toll Rising For Poisoned Indian Students! Headmistress's Disappearance Linked To Cook
The pesticide that was added was organophosphorus. As Meena Kumari's husband owned the store that provided the ingredients for the midday meal, it should not be far to think that her family were responsible for the deaths of these children whose ages are between 5 and 12.
Indian laws had commanded that teachers should first consume the midday meal before providing it to the children, so as to prevent this kind of event from happening. However, as has been usually observed in the public daily lunch programs, the meals has a high chance of containing protein from lizards, cockroaches, and bugs. Kumari, who also serves as a teacher in addition to being the principal, did not consume the food prepared at all.
When the children complained of the strange taste in the food (as the oil was contaminated with pesticide), Kumari scolded them into finishing the meal.
© 2017 Jobs & Hire All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
