Over 50 people fall ill after consuming food at religious event

Aurangabad: In a suspected case of food poisoning in Beed, several people, including men, women, and children experienced uneasiness in the wee hours of Wednesday after consuming contaminated food on Tuesday night. The affected people were attending a religious event organised in Govindnagar, Dhanora road of Beed city.

Around 50 people have been admitted to Beed district hospital. “We are coordinating with the FDA as well as medical authorities so that an appropriate action is initiated in this incident. We are also trying to ascertain if the incident is a result of carelessness or it is case of sabotage,” Beed superintendent of police G Sreedhar told TOI.

A detailed report of the incident has been sought from the area police station. Besides, the special branch has been directed to collect more details of the incident.

A family residing in the locality had organised a ‘Jagran Gondhal’, a religious event that is typically organised post-marriage. A goat sacrificed for the event was cooked and served as prasad along with bhakri, rice, and a vegetable dish. Almost half an hour after consuming the food at around 11.30 pm, the guests started feeling uneasy. Minutes later, they felt nauseous and suffered from diarrhoea.

Sensing trouble, they were rushed to the hospital. Doctors who attended them said that the condition of some patients had worsened due to serious loss of fluid. However, they were on their way to recovery by morning and are currently kept under observation.

On learning about the incident, senior officials from the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) rushed to the spot and collected food samples which have been sent for chemical analysis at Aurangabad.

When contacted, FDA’s food safety officer Rushikesh Marewar said, “Following the SOP, we have collected the samples of mutton gravy, Bajra bhakris, rice as well as a brinjal dish that were part of the menu at the event.”

Sources from FDA said that considering the gravity of the issue, the authorities at the lab have been requested for getting the food samples tested on priority. “Based on the findings, a call about further action against the organisers and hosts of the event would be taken,” a senior FDA officer said.