Police have arrested the principal of the school in eastern India where 23 people died last week after eating lunch that was contaminated with pesticides, according to the Washington Post.
Meena Kumari, the principal of the school fled soon after the children began fainting July 16. On Wednesday, members of the special investigative team arrested her while she was going to a local court in Chapra town to file an application for anticipatory bail.
The principal had been missing for a week, but according to the Wall Street Journal, she has not been charged with anything yet.
"Our main concern now it to interrogate her and get as much details as we can," Sujeet Kumar, the police superintendent, said.
A court issued a warrant for the principal, on Monday, than announced on Tuesday that It would seize the headmistress's property if she did not surrender. A senior official in the state government said the notice was sent to her house and posted in local newspapers.
Police searched the home of the headmistress's parents and other relatives, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Autopsies preformed on 22 children, confirmed reports that the insecticide was the cause, according to The Wall Street Journal. Authorities discovered a container of pesticide in the school's cooking area. The container was next to the vegetable cooking oil and mustard oil. Families buried their dead children in the school playground and nearby. According to reports, the headmistress was the central point of interest in the investigation.
"Everything ends at her," Kumar said. "We are still trying to understand why the pesticide was used in such large quality in the food."
The cooks, Manju Devi and Pano Devi, told the Associated Press the principal controlled the food for the free daily lunch. That day, she gave them rice, potatoes, lentils, soy and other ingredients needed to prepare the meal and then went about her business. As the children ate, one by one, they began fainting the cooks said.
Police have also arrested a cook who is accused of poisoning the school lunch that resulted in the death of 22 people.
Sadiq Dogar, police chief of Mailsi in eastern Punjab, said the cook Muhammad Rafiq, was allegedly paid $500 by a politician to poison a family's rival on June 9.
According to the CBS News, the meal included rice, soybean and potato curry. The meal was provided by the central government's "Midday Meal Program."
The program aimed to ensure children at government schools get at least one free cooked meal a day. It's considered the largest school feeding program, involving 120 million children.
