The Indian Human Rights organization said Thursday that it was investigating that more than 100 children fell ill after eating a school lunch served after a dead snake was found in food.
“It would seem that the cook served food for children after removing a dead snake,” said the National Commission for Human Rights (NHRC) in a statement.
The meal was served last week in a school managed by the government of the city of Mokama in Bihar, one of the poorest states in India, he said.
The Commission demanded that local government officials and the police will investigate the media reports that “more than 100 children fell ill” after eating school lunch.
About 500 children would have eaten the meal, and the incident launched angry demonstrations from the families of the children. The commission said.
“The news of children falling ill, due to the consumption of the midday meal, led to the blocking of the road by the Protestant villagers,” he said.
Free lunches are offered to millions of children in India public schools, considered by the authorities as a way to encourage children to continue their studies.
Free meals, known as midday meal, were presented for the first time for the children of poor horizons in the southern city of Chennai (Madras) in 1925, according to the BBC. However, there have been frequent complaints of poor food hygiene, BBC reported.
The Commission said it required a “detailed report” of senior state and police officials, to include “children’s health”.
He said that the report, if confirmed, poses “the serious question of student human rights violation,” the statement added.
In 2013, 23 schoolchildren died After being served a meal with pesticides in the district of Saran du Bihar. The disaster has prompted the government to improve food security in schools.
