A 15-year-old boy died and three other children fell ill after allegedly consuming contaminated watermelon in Chhattisgarh’s Janjgir Champa district, officials said on Monday.
The incident occurred in Ghurkot village, where the children had come with their family members to visit their maternal uncle’s house.
The deceased was identified as Akhilesh Dhivar, a resident of Podi Dalha village. The other affected children were identified as Shri Dhivar (4) from Avarid village, Pintu Dhivar (12) from Khatola and Hitesh Dhivar (13) from Kotgarh.
According to district hospital civil surgeon Dr S Kujur, the children had reportedly eaten cut watermelon kept at the house on Sunday evening.
“A few hours later, Akhilesh started vomiting, suffered diarrhoea and experienced breathing difficulties. Similar symptoms were later observed in the other three children as well,” Dr Kujur said.
As their condition worsened, family members rushed them to the district hospital in ambulances at different times on Monday. However, Akhilesh was declared dead on arrival, while the three other children were admitted to the emergency ward for treatment.
Contamination led to death, says doctor
Dr Kujur said the watermelon had allegedly been cut in the morning and consumed several hours later, raising suspicion of contamination.
“Prima facie, the children may have suffered food poisoning due to consumption of contaminated watermelon. The teenager’s body has been sent for post-mortem and viscera samples have been preserved for forensic examination. Another watermelon kept at the house has been sent to the food safety department for laboratory testing,” he added.
Officials said the exact cause of death and illness would be confirmed only after forensic and food safety reports are received.
Rat poison found in watermelon eaten by Mumbai family
Four members of a family died in south Mumbai’s Pydhonie area last month after consuming rat poison.
According to the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) report, traces of zinc phosphide were found in the viscera samples, including the liver, kidney, spleen, stomach contents, bile and abdominal fat, of the deceased. The victims were identified as Abdulla Dokadia (44), his wife Nasrin (35), and their daughters Aayesha (16) and Zaineb (13), Deputy Commissioner of Police Pravin Mundhe said.
“The watermelon sample also tested positive for zinc phosphide, while all other food items tested negative. The report will be examined in detail and forensic experts will be consulted. Further investigation in the case is underway,” the DCP said.
Zinc phosphide is a highly toxic substance commonly used as a rodenticide to control rats and mice.
