Mumbai: After the tragic death of a family of four in Mumbai's Pydhonie last month, a 15-year-old boy died, and three children fell ill after reportedly consuming watermelon in Chhattisgarh's Janjgir-Champa district. This case comes just within a month when a family of four members of the Dokadia family died on April 26.
According to a News18 report, the deceased, identified as Akhilesh Dhivar (15), while the other children are Shri Dhivar (4), Pintu Dhivar (12), and Hitesh Dhivar (13), had come to their maternal uncle's house in Ghurkot village after attending a wedding.
Preliminary reports suggested that the children had consumed cut watermelon on Sunday evening, however, a few hours later, the 15-year-old Akhilesh developed vomiting, diarrhoea, and breathing difficulties. Not just him, similar symptoms were also later seen in the other three children.
As their condition worsened, they were rushed to the hospital. Speaking on the case, Civil Surgeon Dr S Kujur told the daily that Akhilesh was declared brought dead on arrival, while the other three were admitted to the emergency ward.
Doctor Suspects Food Poisoning
The doctor suspected food poisoning, possibly due to contaminated cut watermelon. He said the fruit was cut in the morning hours and was eaten several hours later.
Investigation Underway
Currently, in the case, Akhilesh's body has been sent for post-mortem, while the other watermelon at the house has been sent for laboratory testing to the food safety department. The report added that the exact cause of the death and illness would be known only when these reports are in.
