Bhubaneswar, July 6: Nawarangpur police is waiting for the forensic report of the midday meal suspected to have been poisoned by two female teachers.

At least six students of Ashis Bhavan Project Upper Primary School in the district headquarters fell sick after taking the food provided to them under mid-day meal on Saturday morning. The accused teachers have been placed under suspension.

Superintendent of Police Brijesh Rai said that food samples had been sent to the forensic laboratory for examination and establish whether poison had been mixed in it.

“We are waiting for the report and basing on it we will take further steps. If it will be found that the food had been poisoned, we will arrest the accused persons,” said Rai.

The incident sparked tension among the parents and local residents, who demanded action against the women teachers of the school. They alleged that these teachers had been vying for the headmistress post for last several months. The district administration suspended the accused associate teacher Sanjibani Kerkara and current headmistress of the school Soubhagini Nayak.

Sources in the district headquarters hospital said that the students who were admitted after eating the food were recovering. Two critically ill students —Pabitra Suna, Class VIII, and Sipun Harijana, Class VI — were also recovering slowly.

Four others, students of Classes I and II, have recovered and were stable.

“These students were complaining of stomach-ache after eating. We came to know that the food they ate was poisoned. So we have administered medicine accordingly and they have been kept under observation,” said a doctor.

District collector Sadique Allam had instructed the tehsildar to conduct an inquiry into the matter yesterday after the incident sparked widespread tension in the district.

The tehsildar has recorded the statement of the accused teacher, the headmistress and the cook Surekha Das.

It was alleged that while food was being distributed to the students and some of them had already started to eat, an associate teacher had mixed something in the food. The cook was witness to the incident and told the headmistress, who seized the cooked food and dumped it nearby.

The headmistress said that after she was appointed as head of the school, other teachers had been opposing it. However, the accused associate teacher Kerkara has claimed innocence. “I have been falsely implicated. It is they who have targeted me,” she said.

The collector said that inquiry was going on and based on the findings, action would be taken. “We have suspended both of them. Further action will be taken after we get the inquiry report,” the collector said.