Tehran: Iran’s Deputy Health Minister Yunus Panahi has said that some people were poisoning girl students in the holy city of Qom with the aim of stopping them to pursue education.
Since late November, hundreds of cases of respiratory poisoning have been reported among schoolgirls. Many students had to be admitted to the hospital for treatment. On Sunday, Deputy Health Minister Yunus Panahi categorically confirmed that the poison was intentional. However, he has not given this information in detail.
IRNA, the state news agency, quoted the deputy health minister as saying, “Qom poisoned many students in schools. The investigation found that some people wanted the girls to stop going to school. This was done for this purpose. No arrest has been made in the case so far.”
IRNA reported that on February 14, parents of the ailing students had gathered outside the city to “demand an explanation” from the authorities. The next day, government spokesman Ali Bahaduri Zahromi said the ministries of intelligence and education were trying to determine the cause of the poisoning. Last week, Prosecutor General Mohamed Jafar Montazeri ordered a judicial inquiry into the incidents.