At least 22 children are dead and dozens hospitalised in eastern India after being poisoned by a school meal.
The children, aged 4 to 12, fell ill after eating the free lunch provided under India's school feeding program.
The poisoning has sparked anti-government violence and riots.
Laura Murphy-Oates has the story.
In Bihar, one of the most impoverished states in India, a free lunch at school is an essential source of nutrition.
However after a lunch of rice, soybean and lentils, over 50 children in the district of Chapra began complaining of stomach aches and were rushed to hospital.
A doctor treating the children said there were signs of poisoning by pesticide.
"When the children were clinically examined, we saw that there was severe congestion in the chest, and their pupils were dilated. These are symptoms of organo-phosphorus poisoning. Organo-phosphorus is a compound also used as a pesticide for crops. It is very dangerous. Even a small quantity of it would prove fatal for small children. Looking at the critical condition in which they were brought to the hospital, it seems like there were large quantities of poison in the food that they consumed."
Dozens of children remain in hospital in a serious condition, with fears that the death toll could rise.
It's not yet clear how the poisoning occurred, with Bihar's Education Minister BK Shahi stating that the school cook had voiced concerns about the oil used in the meal, but was ignored.
"The cook said to me when she was cooking, she pointed out that the oil looked disoloured and dodgy. She drew it to the attention of the teacher who said the oil was homemade and safe to use"
The headmistress, who insisted on the food being served regardless, was sacked, after going into hiding.
Anger over the government's management of the incident turned violent, with hundreds of protestors in Bihar taking to the streets vandalising government offices and chanting anti-government slogans.
The protesters also pelted a police station with stones and set ablaze buses and other vehicles.
In front of angry crowds, this protestor voiced her anger at the deaths, laying the blame on the Chief Minister of Bihar.
"We condemn the death of innocent children due to the mid-day meal and have taken to roads to voice our anger against the Chief Minister of Bihar, Nitish Kumar and his insensitive government. If he doesn't order and immediate enquiry into the case and take stringent action against the District Magistrate (DM), we will escalate protests throughout the state and compel the government to resign,"
State Food Minister, Shyam Rzak, says the government is investigating the incident and will be providing the equivalent of $A3600 in compensation for each of the bereaved families.
"The Chief Minister has immediately ordered an investigation into the incident and a committee has been set up. A team of doctors has been arranged to provide treatment to the hospitalised children. A compensation of 200,000 rupees has been announced for the families of the dead children."
In a similar incident just a day later, 15 children have fallen ill in a neighbouring village after a lizard was found in the school lunch.
The children were given first aid but no fatalities were reported.
These incidents are a tragic blemish on what is the largest free school meal scheme in the world, covering 120 million children.
However, they're not uncommon in India.
A similar incident last year saw 130 students taken to hospital in the western city of Pune after eating a school lunch contaminated with E. coli bacteria.
The scheme is intended to improve school attendance, in a country where almost half all young children are undernourished and often suffer from food poisoning due to hygeine issues.
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