A school headteacher and her husband have been charged with murder after 23 children died from eating pesticide-contaminated lunches in July at the school in eastern India, police said on Tuesday.

The trial of Meena Devi and her husband was expected to begin soon, said police officer Varun Kumar Sinha. They were arrested and could face the death penalty if convicted.

Investigating police officer Raj Kaushal said the headteacher's husband, politician Arjun Rai, stored pesticide at the school that was for use at his farm. The charge sheet filed in a court in Bihar state on Sunday said the chef cooked with it by mistake.

Both denied the charges and told police there was no deliberate act on their part.

The school's cooks have told authorities that the headteacher controlled the food for the government-provided free daily lunch. One of the cooks told police investigators that the cooking oil appeared different, but that the principal told her to use it anyway.

The children who died were aged between five and 12.

India's midday meal plan is one of the world's biggest school nutrition programmes. State governments have the freedom to decide on menus and timings of the meals, depending on local conditions and availability of food rations. It was first introduced in the 1960s in southern India, where it was seen as an incentive for poor parents to send their children to school.

【印度学校食物中毒致23名学生死亡 校长夫妇被控谋杀】相关文章：

★ 日本职员穿花衫 清凉节能

★ 这些浪漫的婚礼传统 原来起源这么黑暗！

★ 人生的四季各有滋味

★ 自己的不幸只能靠自己打破

★ 游客太多不堪重负 荷兰不再推广旅游

★ 皮克斯首位华裔女导演执导 《包宝宝》获奥斯卡最佳动画短片

★ 双语阅读：我该不该将懒惰的已成年儿子踢出家门?

★ 纸币印错单词 澳大利亚央行称不影响“使用”

★ 睡前看手机对身体不好吗?最新研究:影响不大

★ 租房的一代:英2/3年轻人放弃买房梦