Maharashtra: 117 students fall ill after school meal; FIR against 4 persons

Police registered an FIR against four persons on Thursday (February 1), a day after more than 100 students of a private ashram school in Maharashtra's Thane district suffered from food poisoning after consuming the mid-day meal, an official said.

A total of 117 students, including 48 girls, were admitted to the Shahapur sub-district hospital after they suffered from food poisoning on Wednesday (January 31), Shahapur tehsildar Komal Thakur told PTI.

The Sant Gadge Maharaj Primary and Secondary Ashram School (residential school for tribal children), where the incident took place, is located at Bhatsai in Shahapur taluka on the outskirts of Mumbai.

Food was brought from outside

The school houses 290 students from Classes 1 to 10 and 168 of them, who were present on Wednesday, were served the food brought from outside, Thakur said.

Students were served food (pulao) and a sweet dish (gulab jamun) following which they experienced vomiting and other symptoms of food poisoning, the official said.

They were immediately rushed to the hospital, she said.

The food was brought from outside on the occasion of the first death anniversary of a villager from Bhatsai, she added.

Case registered

A case was registered against the school superintendent, headmistress of the primary school, headmaster of the secondary school, and a person who brought the food from outside, an official from the district rural police control room said.

They have been booked under Indian Penal Code sections 284 (handling poisonous substance in a reckless or negligent manner, endangering human life), 336 (doing any act which endangers human life or personal safety of others), 337 (causing hurt to any person by committing an act, rashly or negligently, endangering human life or safety of others), and 34 (common intention), the police said.

7 girls still undergoing treatment

Thakur said out of the 117 students admitted to the hospital, seven girls were still undergoing treatment while the others were discharged.

Samples of food items served to the children were collected and sent for laboratory examination, she said.

Senior officials visited the hospital and enquired about the condition of the students. Families and relatives of the affected pupils also gathered outside the medical facility, prompting the deployment of police to maintain order.

The parents of the affected students and some social organisations demanded action against the school management for their failure to take proper care of the inmates.

(With agency inputs)