Chhapra mid-day meal tragedy: Forensic report confirms presence of poison

Forensic report has confirmed the presence of poisonous pesticide in the midday meal served to the students of the school in Chhapra where 23 children died after taking the contaminated food.

The Forensic Science Laboratory's (FSL) report on Bihar's mid-day meal tragedy stated that an analysis of the leftovers of the food the children consumed had found high quantity of organo phosphorus pesticide in them.

''Organo phosphorus has been found in the food, it is normally used in insecticides,'' Ravindra Kumar, ADG, Bihar told reporters today.

The mid-day meal served at the Dharamsati primary school in Chhapra, Masrakh in Saran district on 16 July 2013 has so far claimed the lives of 23 children. Another 24 children and the cook Manju Devi are undergoing treatment at Patna Medical College and Hospital.

The Forensic Science Laboratory analysis of the samples of oil from the container, food remains on the platter and mixture of rice with vegetables on aluminium tasla (utensil) has established the presence Monocrotophos, an organophosphorous compound, Kumar said.

Monocrotophos, which is used as a pesticide for agricultural purposes, is very toxic to human beings and other animals, the ADG said quoting the FSL report.

The report confirmed Bihar government's apprehension that the food given to the children of Dharmasati Gandaman primary school at Chhapra was poisoned.

"It was also observed from the data available in the FSL report that the peak area of the poisonous substance in the oil was more than 5 times in comparison to the commercial preparation used as a control," the ADG said.

The ADG said the to ensure authenticity of the report, the results were interpreted using NIST library, which is an internationally accepted database.

The FSL scientists who tested samples of the suspected poisonous cooking medium found in a plastic container, the cooking utensil and the leftover food from a platter, Kumar said quoting the report.

Sample of froth from the mouth of one sick child as also water and oil taken from the place of occurrence were subjected to forensic analysis, he said adding the scientists used standard analytical method on GCMS instrument for the lab test.

Details like from where the killer pesticide came and who mixed it in oil would be answered in reports of the police investigation, which is still in progress.

The incident took place in Dharamsati primary school in Chhpra, Masrakh in Saran district on Tuesday.