Overview
- At Kakabandha Ashram School in Mayurbhanj, a Sunday hostel meal outside the authorised menu sickened more than 100 students, and Class 5 pupil Rupali Besra died Tuesday during treatment.
- Revenue Divisional Commissioner Sudhansu Mohan Samal began the probe Wednesday, as health teams, including IDSP staff, monitored dozens still hospitalised in Baripada and Rasgovindpur, with one student shifted to Cuttack in critical condition.
- Authorities suspended headteacher Jayant Kumar Panigrahi for negligence, police registered a case on a complaint by the victim’s mother, and the state announced Rs 7 lakh in relief in addition to Rs 3 lakh from the chief minister’s fund.
- Local anger flared during the funeral with clashes that injured police and villagers, parties demanded higher compensation and accountability, and the BJD set a 12-hour Mayurbhanj bandh for April 18 if a judicial probe is not approved.
- Parents say children were served fermented rice with side dishes not on the state-prescribed menu, and the outcome of food and clinical testing could drive wider checks on hygiene and oversight in Odisha’s residential schools.