Seoni (Madhya Pradesh): As many as 77 school students fell ill after eating their mid-day meal which allegedly contained a dead lizard, officials said here on Saturday.
The incident took place on Thursday at Jaitara village of the district. The reptile was found in the vegetable which was distributed under the mid-day meal scheme, they said.
The students who ate the meal started vomiting and were admitted to the district hospital here, they said, adding the school education department has suspended the headmaster, Mr R.L. Pandey.
Police has registered a case against a self-help group, which had supplied the meal, under IPC section 337 (causing hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others) among others.
The Madhya Pradesh minister for labour, Mr Jagannath Singh, who is in-charge of Seoni district, met the students in the hospital and directed district collector, Mr Manohar Dubey, to investigate the incident, following which a five-member panel has been set up.