Patna, July 17: 20 children have died in Bihar, allegedly as a result of food-poisoning from the free mid-day meal provided at their school near Chhapra in the central part of the state, 60 kilometres from the state capital Patna. Most of them who died were younger than 10. Another 35 children have been admitted to the Patna Medical College Hospital. The mid-day meal caused severe food poisoning, said sources. "Nearly 50 students got very sick after eating the mid-day meal at home. By the time they were taken to PSC Mashrak, two children died. By the time they came to us, seven more children had died. We're treating the children at the moment. Doctors found some foreign chemical matter present. The post-mortem of some of the children is complete. The doctors did their best to save the children, but there was so much poison in their food that the doctors couldn't save them all," said Abhijeet Sinha, Chapra's District Magistrate. Several hundred people surrounded the local police station on Tuesday evening demanding action against the school. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has ordered an inquiry and announced compensation of Rs. 2 lakh each to the families of the children who died. Chhapra is the Lok Sabha constituency of former Bihar Chief Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav, who said, "This is happening everywhere in Bihar. I will see who is responsible for this." The opposition BJP, which was dumped recently by the chief minister after a 17-year partnership, was quick to politicise the tragedy. "Such incidents did not happen even during Lalu Prasad's government," said BJP leader Giriraj Singh.