Students of Bero residential school in Baridih leave their hostel while a dead cat lies on the premises on Friday. Picture by Prashant Mitra

Bero, Nov. 14: All students of Rajkiya Adivasi High School have left, leaving this government-run residential school in Baridih deserted a day after five of its boys died on drinking milk served with evening snack.

On the eve of Jharkhand’s eighth statehood day parents and guardians have been rushing to the school, about 45 km from Ranchi, to take their children away leaving behind a ghostly campus and a dead cat which was killed apparently after it drank the milk that’s now feared to have been contaminated.

Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) doctors treating the ailing students — 11 of those in serious condition were shifted to Apollo Hospital today — said they suspected food poisoning but could not pinpoint the exact cause of death as toxicology test reports were yet to come in.

Today, Bero police arrested Pratima, a widow who has been sourcing milk from various milkmen since the last two years to supply to the school.

But villagers blamed the school authorities instead. “One boy, Mange Bhagat of Class IX, drank the milk soon after Pratima handed it over to the school. He is fine,” said Kedar Tiger, a local villager.

“The milk became poisonous between 10am to 4pm and the school authorities are responsible for it.”

The deputy commissioner of Ranchi, Rajiv Arun Ekka, accompanied by the special secretary of the welfare department, B.C. Nigam, visited the school today and tried their best to convince students and their parents not to leave. But no one was in a mood to listen.

With all teachers having fled yesterday, no one thought it would do them any good to stay on.

The school has 248 students on rolls, and 76 of them fell ill yesterday after drinking milk that was served with the regular evening snack of chura and bananas.

“I will not send back my child to this school. I do not want him to eat unsafe food. I would rather educate him in my own village,” said Gopal Oraon, a resident of Lamkana village, pointing to the unclean kitchen with broken doors and windows.

A dead cat lay nearby. Apparently it was seen drinking the milk in the kitchen and died, alleged a group of parents.

Bero was in mourning today. Shops were closed and BJP members joined Adivasi Chatra Sangh to block the Ranchi-Mumbai NH 23 at various places since 3 am.

They continued their blockade till 2pm.

About 5km away from the school, villagers gathered to bid Surendra Bhagat their final goodbye. “After the puja holidays, I could not see off my child when he left for school. I had never imagined I would live to see this day,” said his mother, Parvati.

At Makunda village, 20km away, Jackson Minz’s sister couldn’t stop crying. He was her only family, having lost her parents early in life.

“Jackson’s sister has been crying continuously. We do not what to do… how to stop her?” said a villager.

“The incident appears to be a case of food poisoning,” said Tulsi Mahto, head of the department of forensic sciences at RIMS where 12 boys were being treated. Eleven others had to be shifted to Apollo Hospital as their condition wasn’t improving. “Their heart beats couldn’t be controlled,” explained RIMS director N.N. Aggarwal.

The hostel superintendent, who also fell ill, is now out of danger. The post-mortems on the five boys has been completed and the viscera sent for forensic tests.

Doctors have two theories_ bacterial infection or a mixture of chemicals that turn food poisonous. “The exact cause of the milk turning poisonous would become clear only after the completion of tests,” said a duty doctor.

The state government has constituted a four-member team, headed by DSP Jyoti Uday Tete and including an inspector and two sub-inspectors, to probe the incident.

Governor Syed Sibtey Razi, who cancelled all Children’s Day functions at Raj Bhavan today, visited RIMS and called for strict measures to stop such incidents in future.