5 of family found dead in Greater Noida; police suspect poisoning after bodies found with 'foam around mouth'

Police are investigating possible food poisoning after the family reportedly ate noodles, but officials say the cause is unconfirmed pending post-mortem results

Greater Noida: Five members of a family, comprising a couple and their three children, were found dead at their house in Greater Noida’s Nagla Shri Padam village on Saturday morning, police said.

Food safety department officials said an autopsy is required to establish if food poisoning caused the deaths (Sunil Ghosh /HT)

Police suspect food poisoning as the cause of death, noting that the victims had foam around their mouths and their faces showed no signs of distress or vomiting. However, food safety department officials said an autopsy is required to establish if food poisoning caused the deaths.

Police identified the victims as Mahesh, 37, his wife Lalita, 35, and their three children: a seven-year-old daughter and two sons, aged 11 and three. Police said Mahesh’s 80-year-old mother, who also lived with the family, was unharmed. She apparently had not eaten anything that night, police said.

“According to local residents and the elderly mother, the family had eaten noodles on Friday night,” Noida police said in a statement.

ACP Sisodiya added that the bodies had been sent for post-mortem examinations.

Deputy commissioner of police (Greater Noida) said, “On Friday night, the family returned home from an event around 10.30pm. They cooked some food, ate it, and went to sleep. Their elderly mother, who was unwell, said she only had tea. The next morning, they were found dead and police were informed.”

Food safety officials, however, said it would be premature to draw conclusions about the cause of death at this stage. “While food poisoning is among the suspected possibilities being investigated, there is no confirmed finding so far establishing a link between the deaths and the food consumed by the family,” said assistant food commissioner (II), Gautam Budh Nagar, Sarvesh Mishra.

Assistant Commissioner (food) Sarvesh Mishra reiterated that only a post-mortem could determine the cause. “If it turns out to be food poisoning, we will identify exactly which shop the food was purchased from and take further legal action. Department officials were also present at the scene and collected food samples from the house. Post-mortem results are awaited.”

Dr Madan Mohan Mani Tripathi, chief medical officer of Gautam Budh Nagar, said: “The bodies have been sent for post-mortem examinations, and viscera have been preserved for further investigation. At present, the health department has no separate findings to share, as the police are investigating the case.”

Police said inquest proceedings were underway and further legal action would depend on the post-mortem findings. No case has been registered yet.

HT also spoke to an expert to understand what could have caused the deaths.

Dr Bhumesh Tyagi, senior consultant (internal medicine) at Sharda Hospital, said: “Toxins may have been involved, possibly due to food contamination or adulteration. It is highly unlikely that ordinary food poisoning alone would cause the simultaneous deaths of five people. This does not appear to be a typical case of food poisoning, where a person develops diarrhoea and other gastrointestinal symptoms. It appears to be a case of possible adulteration; symptoms can include seizures, excessive salivation and frothing at the mouth.”

Meanwhile, Jewar MLA Dhirendra Singh said he had informed the chief minister’s office about the incident and urged officials to conduct a swift and impartial investigation.

“I have personally visited the spot to take stock of the circumstances. The police administration and food department teams are engaged in the investigation. Legal action should be taken if any negligence was found,” Singh said.