UP: Student dies after food poisoning incident in Uttar Pradesh's Deoria school, FIR against mess operator

Around 80 students from the Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay Ashram School in Mehroona village had fallen ill with symptoms of stomach pain, vomiting and diarrhoea after eating the school meal, and were hospitalised on Monday.

Deoria: A 15-year-old student, who was among the several children hospitalised here two days ago after food poisoning at a state-run school, died in eastern Uttar Pradesh's Gorakhpur district on Wednesday, officials said.

Around 80 students from a school in Mehroona village had fallen ill with symptoms of stomach pain, vomiting and diarrhoea after eating the school meal, and were hospitalised on Monday.

Currently, 61 students are hospitalised in Deoria Medical College, according to the officials.

District Magistrate Divya Mittal expressed deep sorrow over this incident.

"All the students admitted for treatment at Deoria Medical College are healthy and they will be discharged from today," Mittal said.

The school, which provides residential-based free education to meritorious students from financially weaker sections of society, is being run by the Social Welfare Department of the state. Currently, 94 such schools are functional in the state, according to an official website.

The district administration has lodged an FIR with the police and also started a magisterial probe over the incident besides cancelling the licence of the mess contractor.

The FIR has been registered against the mess contractor under BNS sections 105 (culpable homicide), 125 (act endangering life of others) and 271 (spreading infection), among others, police said.

Additional Superintendent of Police (South) Bhim Kumar Gautam said, "Efforts are being made to arrest the accused. During the investigation, action can be taken against others as well." The health officer explained the chronology of events.

"A student receiving treatment at Baba Raghav Das Medical College in Gorakhpur has passed away this Wednesday morning. The deceased student, Shivam Yadav, son of Sadanand Yadav, aged 15, was a resident of Bhaisiya Ramnagar, Farenda Tehsil, Maharajganj district," Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Dr Rajesh Jha said.

"Following the food poisoning incident on August 5, his condition deteriorated, and he was admitted to Maharshi Deoraha Baba Medical College, Deoria. Initially, his health was stable, but on the afternoon of August 6, his condition worsened with a sudden drop in blood pressure, leading to his admission to the ICU," Jha said.

He said despite efforts, there was no significant improvement in his health. Consequently, for better treatment, the medical college administration transferred him to BRD Medical College, Gorakhpur, on Tuesday evening around 4 pm using an advanced life-saving ambulance.

At the BRD Medical College, Shivam was placed on a ventilator for treatment, the CMO said.

"To ensure coordinated efforts for his treatment, the district administration sent Additional CMO Dr Surendra Chaudhary to BRD Medical College. Unfortunately, Shivam Yadav passed away on the morning of Wednesday, August 7," he added.

According to an official statement, the district administration has initiated action against erring mess service providers in connection with the incident.

A complaint has been given by District Social Welfare Officer Jaiswar Lal Bahadur to register an FIR under relevant sections at the local Bariyarpur police station against mess contractor Rajesh Gupta, it said.

The contract to operate the mess has also been cancelled and instructions have been given to invite fresh tenders for operating the mess, it said.

"Apart from this, an order has been given for magisterial inquiry of the case. Strict action will be ensured on receipt of the investigation report," the statement added.