Parents are grieving and demanding answers in India, after as many as 25 children died from eating contaminated free school lunches.  Doctors are trying to save 50 more children from the school in India’s impoverished eastern state of Bihar.

The children aged four to 12-years old fell ill after consuming a lunch of rice, vegetables, soybeans, and lentils, and were rushed to hospital.  Conflicting reports say the lunches were tainted with insecticide or phosphorus.

Officials say the school’s headmistress was dismissed for fleeing the school when word of the illness got out.  She had allegedly insisted that the school’s cook use odd cooking oil that he had tried to bring to her attention.

“In spite of the cook's complaint, the headmistress insisted on its use and the cook made the food.  The children had also complained about the food to the cook,” said P.K. Shahi, Bihar's education minister.

Overnight, angry villagers pelted the police station and set police cars on fire.