A 16-year-old girl died and 31 residents of Kerala’s Kasargod district were hospitalised after they ate shawarma at a snack stall, The New Indian Express reported.
The girl who died has been identified as Devananda, a resident of Karivallor village in the Kasargod district. She was among the 15 students who went to a community health centre in the Cheruvathur town on Sunday morning to seek treatment.
They complained of vomiting, loose stools and fever after having eaten the shawarma on April 29 at the Ideal Cool Bar and Food Point. Devananda’s health reportedly deteriorated later, and she collapsed around 1.30 pm on Sunday.
According to district medical officer AV Ramdas, she was taken to the district hospital in an ambulance but died soon afterwards. Others who were hospitalised for food poisoning are stable now, he added.
The police have registered a case against the snack shop and sealed it, PTI reported. They have taken two employees of the outlet, Sandesh Rai and Anex M, into custody. However, the owner, Ahmed, has gone into hiding, an official with the Chandera Police Station said.
The police have named all three of them in the first information report, and invoked sections 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 308 (attempt to commit culpable homicide), 272 (selling adulterated food) and 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code.
State Excise Minister MV Govindan on Sunday visited the patients who are recuperating, The Times of India reported. He told authorities to carry out inspections to make sure that safe food is served at restaurants.
Health Minister Veena George told the food safety commissioner to submit a report on the food poisoning in the Kasargod district. Strict action would be taken based on the report, she added.
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