An eight-year-old class 2, student Mahanthamma Shivappa Talawar, passed away on Sunday in Bengaluru on Sunday after sustaining severe burns from falling into a vessel containing over 40 litres of hot sambar during a mid-day meal session at Chinmmgera Government Higher Primary School in Karnataka.
The unfortunate incident occurred on Thursday when Mahanthamma accidentally fell into the sambar vessel at her school in Kalaburagi district's Chinmmgera village. Despite receiving immediate first aid at a local health centre, she suffered 40% burn injuries. She was later moved to Gulbarga Institute of Medical Sciences and later to Basaveshwara Hospital in Kalaburagi. Her deteriorating condition led to her transfer to Victoria Hospital in Bengaluru on Saturday, where she passed away around 3:30 am on Sunday.
Following the incident, Mahanthamma's mother, Sangeetha Shivappa Talawar, filed an FIR with the Devalagangapur police, resulting in the booking of seven people. This included the school's kitchen staff, headmistress, authorities from Akshara Dasoha, the Block Education Officer, the Executive Officer of Afzalpur Taluk Panchayat, the Deputy Director of Public Instruction, and the concerned Zilla Panchayat officer associated with the Midday Meal program.
According to the FIR, the chaotic situation during mealtime led to a stampede-like scenario, causing Mahanthamma to slip into the sambar vessel. It was alleged that there was no organized queue for the students to collect their food.
Responding to the incident, Sakreppagouda Biradar, Deputy Director of Public Instruction in Kalaburagi, suspended the provisional Head Mistress, Lalabi Nadaf, and the assistant teacher, Raju Chauhan, over charges of negligence. Additionally, Kasturibai Talakeri, the chief cook of the mid-day meal scheme at the school, was dismissed in connection with the incident.