3 ST children died residing in Christian Arisudhatma Agni Stuthi Aradhana Trust (PASA Trust  shelter) home (Andhra) 

The children, 35 of whom have been hospitalised, consumed food donated from a death ceremony.

Three children belonging to the Scheduled Tribe (ST) community lost their lives and 78 others were hospitalised on Monday, August 18, due to food poisoning at a hostel in Andhra Pradesh. The children fell ill after allegedly consuming leftover contaminated food made earlier in the day. The hostel is run by the Parisudhatma Agni Stuthi Aradhana Trust (PASA Trust) in Kailasapatnam of Anakapalle district. A total of 86 children reportedly consumed the food.

The food served, which included samosas and chocolates, was donated to the hostel from a death ceremony and had been stored improperly before serving the children, said Anakapalle Superintendent of Police, Deepika Patil. “The blood samples from a few students have been collected and sent to the lab for further investigation,” said SP Deepika Patil.

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu, has announced a compensation of Rs 10 lakh for the families of the deceased and ordered a thorough inquiry into the matter.

The children started exhibiting symptoms of food poisoning, like vomiting, diarrhoea, and severe discomfort, on Sunday morning. Following this, the hostel manager immediately sent the children back to their homes instead of providing medical treatment, leading to the deaths of the three children on Monday.

Out of the 86 children who consumed the food, 35 children are receiving the treatment at various hospitals across the district. Some of the children are said to be in critical condition.

A parent of a child being treated at a hospital in Visakhapatnam said, “We had enrolled our child in this hostel trusting that they would take good care of our child but instead, they put us in this sorrowful situation.”

The children, all belonging to the ST community, were living in the hostel, which lacked proper facilities and was run without necessary permissions by a local pastor, Kiran Kumar. Authorities have arrested him on charges of negligence leading to death under section 304 part 2 (punishment for an act that intends to cause death) and section 105 (punishment for culpable homicide, not amounting to murder) of BNS (Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita), section 42 (penalty for non-registration of child care institutions), section 75 (punishment to cruelty to children) and section 77 (punishment for child intoxication) of the Juvenile Justice Act (care and protection of children), 2015.

Officials from various departments, including the police, medical, and education sectors, are investigating the situation which led to this tragedy.