Monday, October 21, 2013

Chargesheet filed against principal in Bihar insecticide tragedy case

Although media continues to report about Bihar's mid day meal tragedy. The fact is that it was an insecticide tragedy. 

A chargesheet was filed October 21 against a Bihar school principal and her husband for the deaths of 23 children who ate contaminated mid day meal.

The chargesheet was filed in the court of chief judicial magistrate in Saran district. A 346 page chargesheet was filed against school principal Meena Devi and her husband Arjun Rai".
Both Meena Devi and Rai are in jail.  

Raj Kaushal, the investigating officer of the case said, it was stated in the chargesheet that Rai purchased pesticide from a sugar factory and he kept the pesticide in the room where items for cooking mid day meal were stored. The food was cooked with pesticide. That chargesheet was filed under various sections including 302 (murder) and 307 (attempt to murder). 

He said that adequate evidences were collected against both accused in the case during investigation.
Meena Devi was the principal of the government primary school at Gandaman village in Saran when the children died after eating contaminated food July 16. She was arrested a week after the deaths.

A first information report was registered against her on charges of murder and criminal conspiracy.

Her husband Rai, accused of buying the pesticide that got mixed with the food, was on the run after the mid day meal tragedy and surrendered in court two months ago.

A forensic lab report confirmed traces of Monocrotophos, a toxic insecticide were found in the cooking oil used for making food at the school. The need to ban this insecticide remains an unmet need. A committee of Union Ministry of Agriculture is examining the possibility of banning it.  

 

No comments: