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India’s human rights body is investigating reports that more than 100 children fell ill from eating a school lunch after a dead snake was found in the food.<\/p>\n
The cook reportedly still served the lunch despite removing the dead animal from it, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) said in a statement.<\/p>\n
The commission said about 500 children are believed to have been served the meal in the city of Mokama in Bihar state, eastern India.<\/p>\n
After children started falling sick, locals blocked a road in protest, the NHRC said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
“The commission has observed that the contents, if true, raise a serious issue of violation of the human rights of the students,” it said.<\/p>\n
The statement demanded a “detailed report” within two weeks from senior state officials which will include “the health status of the children”.<\/p>\n
The free school meals, know as the Mid-Day Meal, were first introduced for children from poor backgrounds in the southern city of Chennai (Madras) in 1925.<\/p>\n
One of the biggest such schemes in the world, it was introduced to combat hunger and boost school attendance. However, there have been complaints of poor food hygiene.<\/p>\n
In 2013, tainted food was blamed for the deaths of 23 schoolchildren<\/a> in Bihar state.<\/p>\n Police said “very toxic” levels of a pesticide had been detected by scientific tests.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n