''It is sad but true that 20 children died after eating their midday meal, which appears to be poisonous, ''Bihar state education minister P K Shahi told AFP. The death toll rose from eight on Tuesday and some 30 more children were still sick in hospital in the state capital Patna, the minister said.
Investigation is under way into the incident on Tuesday afternoon at the state-run school in the village of Masrakh, in Bihar's Saran district.
Several hundred people staged protests against the state government over the incident. Children started falling sick after eating their lunch of lentils and rice cooked at the school, officials have said.
''Hundreds of angry people staged a protest in Saran sinch late Tuesday night, demanding stern action against government officials responsible for his shocking incidnet, '' district government officials S K Mall said.
Free meals are offered to improverished students in state-run school as part of the government welfare measures in many of India's 29 states.
AFP