One farmer died and 75 people were hospitalised after eating at a seminar organised by seed manufacturing company Bayer Seeds at a village near Maharashtra’s Nashik, The Indian Express reported on Friday.
Around 200 farmers attended the seminar on hybrid tomatoes at the Umrale village in Dindori on Wednesday. Several farmers complained of uneasiness and began vomiting after they were served lunch, the report said.
Nashik Civil Surgeon Suresh Jagadale said the food was arranged by a private caterer and its samples were being examined.
“We have booked the catering contractor, the cook, the Bayer Seeds regional manager and a few other company officials for culpable homicide,” Police Inspector Rajesh Shirsat from the Dindori police station told The Indian Express.
Bayer Seeds, in a written response to the newspaper, said six of its own employees also reported health complications. “We would like to assure everyone the incident will be investigated in detail and we will cooperate with authorities,” it said.
Last month, 18 farmers in the state’s Yavatmal district are believed to have died after inhaling toxic insecticide fumes sprayed in farms.
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