Raichur: Three members of a family — a man and his two young daughters — died in the early hours of Tuesday in Raichur district after unknowingly consuming contaminated food, possibly containing insecticide residue.
While the exact cause is yet to be officially confirmed, preliminary findings suggest that the vegetables harvested from the family’s own field were laced with insecticide that was sprayed two days ago.
The incident occurred at K. Timmapur village in Sirwar taluk, where Ramesh and Padma, along with their four children, had dinner on Monday night and went to bed. In the early hours of Monday, Ramesh reportedly woke up complaining of severe abdominal pain. Soon after, his wife Padma and daughters Nagamma (8) and Deepa (6) also developed symptoms including vomiting and stomach cramps.
The four were rushed to Lingasugur Taluk Hospital around 5 am. However, Nagamma was declared brought dead. Ramesh (38) passed away shortly after admission, and Deepa, who was referred to the Raichur Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS), died on the way.
Padma and her two other children — Krishna and Chaitra — were later shifted to RIMS.
“Their condition of Padma is stable. However, we are observing them closely,” said Dr Vijay Shankar, District Surgeon at RIMS.
“Padma is responding well to treatment. Krishna and Chaitra have not shown any symptoms so far, but as a precaution, we have kept them under observation. If needed, Padma will be referred to a higher centre in Bengaluru or Hyderabad,” Dr District Health Officer Surendra Babu told Deccan Chronicle.
According to sources the illness set in after the family consumed a curry prepared with cluster beans (chevlekai or gaurikayi), which had been freshly harvested from their own farm. Health officials suspect the vegetables may have been contaminated, possibly due to insecticide residue.
“White patches were found on the cluster bean plants, and it appears insecticide had been sprayed just two days prior,” a health department source said. The two children who are currently stable reportedly consumed very little of the curry, which may have spared them from severe symptoms.
Officials have collected samples and sent them to a laboratory for analysis. Only after the officials receive the lab report will they know the exact cause of death.