6-yr-old dies hours after having mid-day meal in UP’s Ballia

Ballia: A girl died after consuming ‘khichdi’ in the mid-day meal at a primary school of the Bansdihroad police station area here, police said on Thursday.

Police here said that the children had been served ‘khichdi’ for the mid-day meal at the Primary School, Jaidopur on Wednesday. However, Gunjan (6), who was in the 1st standard, complained of ill health, sometime after eating the meal. The teacher at the school sent her home.

As her condition at home worsened, the girl’s family took her to the hospital where the doctors declared her brought dead. Enraged over the incident, the family went to the school with the girl’s body and created an uproar. Subsequently, the District Magistrate (DM), Bansdeeh SDM Dushyant Maurya, BSA Shivnarayan Singh reached the school with a police force.

Following preliminary questioning, the school’s headmistress Shivkumari Yadav was suspended. The family members were pacified and the matter was brought under control. The body was later sent for post-mortem. The SDM said that prima facie, a plum seed may have got stuck in the student’s throat.

He said that the reason behind the girl’s death will be ascertained following a probe. The BSA said that there are 80 students registered at the school out of which 34 had come to school and all of them had eaten the ‘khichdi’ for the MDM. A sample of the ‘khichdi’ has also been sent for investigation. (UNI)