Girl falls in vessel full of hot food in Mirzapur, dies

VARANASI: A three-year-old girl fell into a vessel containing steaming hot vegetable freshly cooked for mid-day meal at a primary school of Rampur Atari village in Mirzapur district on Monday and succumbed to burns.
On Tuesday, Lalganj Police arrested six cooks of the school. Lilawati Devi, Kamlawati Devi, Sona Devi, Mona Devi, Reeta Devi and Nagina Devi were booked under Section 304A of IPC and sent to jail. The girl, Anchal, daughter of Bhagirathi Kol, was enrolled at the Aanganwadi centre in the school premises. The girl was playing when she accidently fell in the vessel full of freshly-cooked vegetable and was scalded. She was rushed to the primary health centre from where she was referred to district hospital, but succumbed to burns.
Mirzapur DM Sushil Patel and SP Dharm Veer Singh visited the school. "An FIR has been lodged and investigation is under way," the SP told TOI.
An irate mob of villagers, including the girl's parents locked the school demanding action. They blamed the cooks and school staf. The DM and SP pacified the mob and assured strict action.
School headmaster Santosh Kumar Yadav had been suspended on Monday after the incident.