New Delhi: At around 10.30 pm Saturday, they sat down for a biryani family feast in their home in Mumbai’s Bhendi Bazaar. A few hours later, around 1-1.30 am, they had watermelon.
Within a little over 24 hours, shop owner Abdullah (40), his wife Nasreen (35), and their two daughters Zainab (13) and Nasreen (16) were dead.
While police have collected samples of the items the family consumed—biryani, water, and the pieces of watermelon—for examination, they are hoping that the post-mortem report will offer more clarity on the mystery deaths that have made headlines across the country.
The Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is conducting a parallel probe. The FDA and Directorate of Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) have collected 11 samples including the spices used in the biryani, raw rice, raw chicken, half-eaten dates, as well as watermelon slices.
DCP Zone 1 Mumbai Dr Pravin Munde said in a video message Tuesday that the deaths are being treated as unnatural.
An assistant commissioner-level FDA official told ThePrint on condition of anonymity: “We are yet to receive the post-mortem and viscera reports. When there is microbial food poisoning, it usually takes around 24 hours. This kind of quickness, we have not seen. But everybody reacts differently.”
Dr Sanjay Surase, medical superintendent at Mumbai’s JJ Hospital where the family underwent treatment, told ThePrint that the family may have ingested a toxic substance. “We suspect that the food they consumed could have been mixed with toxic or chemicals. It is very rare that in cases of food poisoning, the condition starts to deteriorate with such severity, and most importantly, so quickly. Currently, we are looking at the possibility of a toxic or chemical substance that could have caused their condition to deteriorate.”
Doctors have reserved their opinion on the mystery deaths pending a histopathology report.
The FDA official quoted earlier also said they did find any bill that could give them clues as to where the fruit the family consumed came from. “However, our teams will take surveillance samples from the neighbourhood where the incident took place to monitor food safety, map hazards, and check regulations.”
What happened that night
Mumbai Police sources said that on 25 April, the family of four, along with five other relatives, had biryani for dinner around 10.30 pm, following which the relatives returned to their homes.
“Around 5.30-6 am, all four developed symptoms of vomiting and loose motion,” a police officer said. They first went to their family doctor. But when their condition worsened, the doctor then referred them to JJ hospital.
During treatment, the younger daughter, Zainab, was declared dead around 10.15 am the next day at JJ hospital, police said. Both Ayesha and Nasreen died around 5 pm, followed by the husband’s death at 10.30 pm.
(Edited by Gitanjali Das)