INDORE: A routine afternoon at an anganwadi centre in Neemuch turned fatal within minutes when a swarm of bees descended on playing children and a woman stepped forward to shield them, sacrificing her own life in the process.Kanchan Bai Meghwal, who led the self-help group preparing meals at the centre, wrapped the children in tarpaulin and mats and pushed them to safety before collapsing from hundreds of stings.The incident occurred on Monday in Ranpur village when about 20 children were outside the anganwadi building. According to villagers, the swarm appeared suddenly and surrounded the children, triggering panic. Seeing them trapped, Kanchan Bai ran towards them, grabbed whatever she could find to cover them and hurried them into an inner room. Witnesses said she deliberately stood in the open to draw the bees away from the children.By the time residents reached the centre, she had been attacked relentlessly. She was rushed to hospital in a critical condition, where doctors declared her dead. A postmortem was conducted on Tuesday before her body was handed over to the family.Villagers said Kanchan Bai’s husband, Shivalal, is paralysed, and she managed both the family’s expenses and the upbringing of their son and two daughters. Villagers have urged the district administration to remove the hive from the tree in the Anganwadi premises immediately and extend financial help to Kanchan Bai’s family, saying her final act saved the lives of the children she protected.