Bihar midday meal: Chhapra school principal Meena Devi surrenders

Meena Devi, the principal of the Chhapra school where 23 kids died after consuming the midday meal, surrendered on Wednesday after she and her husband went hiding for days after the tragedy. A notice, declaring the principal of Dharmasati Gandaman Primary School as proclaimed offender and absconding, was pasted outside her home at Dharmasati Gandaman village in Mashrakh block, about 50 km from Chhapra, earlier on Wednesday, police said. [caption id=“attachment_982883” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Image for representation only. AFP[/caption] Meena Devi is an accused in the FIR filed in connection with the midday meal tragedy and has been on the run for over a week. The principal has been charged under IPC 302 (murder) and 120-B (criminal conspiracy). The spurious cooking oil that contaminated the food was bought from the shop owned by the principal’s husband. Forensic tests on the food served to the children confirmed that the food was poisoned, and also contained the alarming revelation that it contained five times the poison levels found in insecticides and pesticides. The Bihar government had alleged that both the head mistress and her husband were responsible for the deaths, saying that her disappearance, along with the male members of her family, showed that she was involved in the incident. With agency inputs