A student of class III died while two others were taken seriously ill after consuming poisonous food at a school hostel in West Bengal's Burdwan district.
District Magistrate Onkar Singh Meena confirmed that eight-year-old Archana Hembram died at Durgapur hospital today while condition of two others among the 41 students of admitted after consuming poisonous food yesterday was serious.
Stating that the school students were suffering from acute dehydration, Meena said they were first admitted to the Kaksa primary health centre but were subsequently discharged.
They were then admitted to Durgapur hospital.
The district administration has sent a medical team and ordered a magisterial probe under additional district magistrate Utpal Biswas to probe into any act of negligence on the part of the school authorities as they had not informed the district authorities about the incident, he said.
The principal of the school Sushmita Pathak claimed that of the 260 hostel students of the residential school, 42 had taken ill and were admitted to Kaksa health centre but were subsequently discharged.
However, three students were later admitted to the Durgapur hospital as they complained of uneasiness, she said.
