A 13-year-old Zainab, her elder sister, and parents had a biryani feast on Saturday night. A little after midnight, watermelon was served as what appears to be dessert. Severe symptoms followed early Sunday morning. Treatment started, but in vain. The four family members died one after one in a tragic incident that has left Mumbai in shock.
The four deaths were due to suspected food poisoning, said police.
A Biryani Feast
Abdullah Abdul Kadar, a 40-year-old local trader who ran a mobile accessories shop, his wife Nasreen, 35, and the children, Zainab, 13, and Ayesha, 16, had gathered for dinner with five other relatives around 10:30 pm on Saturday. Biryani was on the menu. After the feast, they returned to their home in Pydhonie.
There were no complaints regarding health till that time. Back home, the family had watermelon around 1 am. Around 5 am, they started feeling unwell. There was vomiting and loose motion. Initially, a local doctor attended them, but as their condition worsened, they were rushed to JJ Hospital.
Zainab, the younger daughter, died around 10:15 am. Her mother Nasreen, 35, and elder sister Aisha, 16, too failed to respond to the treatment and died. Her father, 40, died around 10:30 pm.
Dr Ziad Qureshi, who had initially examined the family, said they were in a very bad state and appeared exhausted. “They had severe vomiting and diarrhea. When I rushed them to the hospital, they informed me that they had eaten watermelon,” he said.
Suspicious Deaths
Officials said a case of accidental death has been registered, and post-mortem examinations have been conducted.
While food poisoning is being suspected behind the suspicious deaths of the four family members within a gap of 12 hours, the police have recorded a half-eaten piece of watermelon and sent it for laboratory testing. “Samples collected from the bodies during the post-mortem have been collected for further investigation,” said Pravin Munde, Deputy Commissioner of Police at Mumbai police.
The forensics and food departments have also been pulled together for the investigation. The state Food and Drug Administration is probing if the watermelon they consumed had any external toxic substance or adulterant, while the forensics team will correlate the causes of death based on food samples and viscera reports.
The microbiology department at JJ hospital is testing the presence of infections or bacteria, while the tissues will be examined through histopathology tests. The final opinion on the cause of death is reserved pending the histopathology report.