Sai Likhitha, a 14-year-old student of Telangana Social Welfare Residential School, Pochampad, died from suspected food poisoning. Recent incidents affected 60 students in Hyderabad. Repeated cases in state-run schools have raised serious food safety concerns, prompting NHRC scrutiny.

Published Date – 18 December 2025, 06:19 PM

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Hyderabad: A suspected food poisoning incident in the State government-run school has now claimed the life of another student on Thursday.

Sai Likhitha (14), a Class VIII student of the Telangana Social Welfare Residential School Pochampad in Nizamabad district, fell seriously ill due to suspected food poisoning in the school premises on December 5. She was already suffering from jaundice, which triggered the severity of the food poisoning and left her in a critical condition. Likhitha passed away while undergoing treatment at a hospital in Hyderabad.

Food poisoning cases in the government-run residential schools continue unabated. As many as 60 students from two different schools in Hyderabad fell ill after consuming food in their respective institutions on December 12. In the first incident, as many as 44 students of Government Primary School Chandu Nayak Thanda in Madhapur here fell ill after having the mid-day meal. In another case, 16 students of the Telangana Minority Residential School, Bagh Lingampally, faced suspected food poisoning after having dinner.

Last year, after battling for life for 25 days, Choudari Shailaja, a Class IX student of Ashram school-Wankidi died while undergoing treatment for food poisoning. Further, the National Human Rights Commission had sought a report on the death of around 48 students and 886 incidents of food poisoning at government-run residential schools in the State.