Food poisoning in Maharashtra claims 3 kids'' lives; several hospitalised

Shiv Kumar
Tribune News Service
Mumbai, June 19

Three children lost their lives and more than 70 others were hospitalised in a suspected case of food poisoning on Monday night in Maharashtra’s Raigad district, according to police.

District police officials from Mahad village in Raigad said all the victims had consumed biryani at a house-warming ceremony of one Subhash Mane on Monday night.

“Around 500 people had been invited for dinner on Monday evening. While the children and a few adults ate first, the remaining were to be served later in the night. However, the younger children who had just finished dinner began to vomit and were rushed to hospital,” a police official from Mahad village told this reporter.

The victims were first rushed to the small Parvati Hospital at Khopoli nearby and later shifted to bigger hospitals like the Gandhi Hospital at Panvel and MGM and DY Patil hospitals at Navi Mumbai as their condition worsened.

The three children who died have been identified as Pragati Shinde (13), Rishikesh Shinde (12) and Kalyani Shingote (7). Five other persons are in various hospitals in a critical condition.

Police suspect that some insecticides used in the fields nearby may have been mixed with the food when it was being cooked at the village temple.

The police have filed a case of accidental death. However, more sections are likely to be added as investigations were continuing, police officials said.