Patna, Oct 24 (IANS): One child died and 10 others fell ill Thursday after eating contaminated food at an orphan children's home in Bihar's Vaishali district, police said.

A police official said nearly a dozen children became sick after eating the food at Lok Seva Ashram in village Chakwaja.

"One child died and 10 others were admitted to a government hospital," a police official said.

Hospital official B.N. Jha said the condition of the children is stable.

According to police officials, a preliminary inquiry showed that ashram authorities regularly served poor quality food to the children. "The police have began a probe into the incident," an official said.

July 16, 23 students died and dozens fell ill at a government primary school in Dharmashati Gandaman village of Saran district in Bihar after eating contaminated midday meal. A forensic lab report confirmed that traces of toxic insecticide were found in the cooking oil used for making food at the school, police said.