Mid-day meal tragedy: Principal continues to evade arrest

A boy stands inside a classroom near books and steel plates of children, who consumed contaminated meals given to them at a school on Tuesday, at Chapra district in the eastern Indian state of Bihar July 18, 2013. The Indian government announced on Thursday it would set up an inquiry into the quality of food given to school pupils in a nationwide free meal scheme after at least 23 children died in one of the deadliest outbreaks of mass poisoning in years. REUTERS

Principal of the Chhapra school, where 23 children died after eating mid-day meal, and her grocer husband are still absconding even as police today contacted their relatives to know the whereabouts of the duo.

"Police are conducting searches and have also spoken to relatives of the absconding principal, Meena Devi, and her grocer husband Arjun Rai but they are yet to be arrested," Saran SP Sujit Kumar said.

Police personnel have also been deployed at Meena Devi's house, the SP said.

An FIR has been lodged against the principal in connection with the mid-day meal tragedy on Tuesday in which 23 students, most of them under 10 years of age, lost their lives after eating mid-day meal served to them in the school.

The principal and her husband, from whose shop she had purchased the cooking oil suspected to be laced with insecticide, have fled after the incident.

Their house in Dharmasati Gandaman village in Mashrakh block, about 50 km from Chhapra, is also locked.

Meanwhile, Saran District Magistrate Abhijit Sinha said there was no report of any fresh death in the tragedy.

He said though mid-day meal is being provided to students as usual, in majority of the schools, children are not taking the food out of fear. 

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