New Delhi: A 15-year-old boy died while three other children fell ill in Chhattisgarh’s Janjgir-Champa district after allegedly consuming watermelon that
may have been contaminated, officials said on Monday. The incident took place in Ghurkot village where the children had gone to visit their maternal uncle’s house.
According to officials, the deceased was identified as Akhilesh Dhivar, a resident of Podi Dalha village. The three other affected children, aged between four and thirteen years, were admitted to the district hospital after they reportedly developed severe vomiting, diarrhoea and breathing difficulties a few hours after eating the watermelon.
A tragic incident
Doctors said the watermelon had reportedly been cut in the morning and consumed later in the evening, raising suspicions of contamination or food poisoning. Akhilesh was declared dead on arrival at the hospital, while the other children remain under treatment in the emergency ward.
Health officials have preserved viscera samples for forensic examination, while another watermelon from the house has been sent to the food safety department for laboratory testing. Authorities said the exact cause of death will only be confirmed after the reports are completed.
Incident follows recent Mumbai tragedy
The case comes weeks after four members of a family in Mumbai died following initial suspicion around watermelon consumption. However, later forensic investigations found traces of zinc phosphide, a toxic substance commonly used in rat poison, in that case. This eventually ruled out bacterial contamination in the fruit itself.
Officials in Chhattisgarh have not yet linked the two incidents, and investigators are continuing to examine whether contamination, poisoning or improper food storage may have been behind the current incident.
