Police await forensic results of Mumbai family who died of 'food poisoning'

Samples of the pulav, watermelon and other food items consumed by the family of four, who died on Sunday of suspected food poisoning in south Mumbai, have been sent for chemical analysis, police said on Tuesday.

According to the police, the Dokadia family had hosted their relatives for a family get-together at their home in Ghari Mohalla on Ismail Kurte Road on Saturday night and had consumed the fruit at around 1 a.m., hours after their guests left.

Abdullah Dokadia (40), his wife Nasreen (35), and daughters Ayesha (16) and Zaineb (13) suffered a severe bout of vomiting and diarrhoea in the early hours of Sunday and were rushed to a local hospital, before being referred to JJ Hospital, where they all died during treatment.

A forensic team combed the Dokadia residence on Tuesday morning to collect samples of every item that was part of the family's last meal, including 'chicken pulav', watermelon, water and other foodstuff, which will be sent for chemical analysis to the Forensic Science Lab at Kalina, an official said.

Officials of J J Marg police station, who are investigating the deaths, have recorded the statements of the five guests who attended the get-together at the Dokadia residence, he said.

The guests, in their statement, said they had all consumed the pulav, but did not experience vomiting or loose motions, the official said.

Prima facie, it is a case of food poisoning, he said, adding that the police are probing all angles.

The official said that although the post-mortem has been conducted, doctors have reserved their opinion, and the viscera of four bodies has also been sent for chemical analysis.