Mumbai: Around 27 students of a Darool-ul-loom Miftahul madrasa in Bhiwandi suffered from suspected food poisoning after having a meal at a feast organised by a person at his place in Bhiwandi Tuesday afternoon. The students, boys aged 12 to 15 years, on Wednesday started complaining of nausea, vomiting, stomachache and giddiness following which they were rushed to the government-run IGM Hospital in Bhiwandi and later shifted to civic-run Nair Hospital.
While all of them are now stable and out of danger, they have been kept under observation and will be discharged in a day or two. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Thane police (rural) have sent samples of the food served to the minors and their stomach wash to the forensic laboratory for testing, said Nair Hospital dean Dr Ramesh Bharmal.
The students were invited by Atahullah Shaikh (30), a businessman and resident of Bhiwandi, for a Niyaaz function organised in Rohan Baugh area, where mutton biryani was served to them. The next morning, they started vomiting and complaining of severe stomach ache.
Dr Bharmal said, “On Wednesday night, we got a call that 27 patients suffering from stomach ache will be rushed to our hospital. We have conducted a medical evaluation, and all of them are out of danger. We have informed the local police and have demanded a FDA inquiry into the incident.”
A student of the madrasa, Nabeel Ahmed (23), told The Asian Age, “We were invited to recite the Quran at Mr Shaikh’s place after which, we were served mutton biryani and sheera in the afternoon on January 16. In the evening, many of us started vomiting and shivering and were had to be rushed to the hospital.”
