Chhattisgarh: 100 fall ill after eating food at post-death ritual

Mahasamund: Nearly 100 people, mostly children, fell sick and showed symptoms of food poisoning after consuming food at a post-death ritual organised by a person in Chhattisgarh's Mahasamund district, officials said on Thursday.

The incident took place in Ansula village under Pithora development block on Wednesday evening following which 50 children and 10 other people were admitted in two hospitals, while others were discharged after preliminary treatment, they said. They had consumed food at 'dasgatra' (a ritual held on the tenth day of death of a person) hosted by one DilipSahu, Mahasamund Collector Doman Singh said.

Sahu is the headmaster of a government primary school in Ansula village, located over 50 km from the state capital Raipur, and apart from locals, children from his school and another educational institution had also attended the event. After two-three hours of consuming the food, about 100 people, including women and children, complained of uneasiness and food poisoning-like symptoms following which they were rushed to hospitals, Singh said.