One person dies, 158 others fall ill due to food poisoning in Assam: Police

According to official reports, the affected people had attended a feast followed by a religious event organised in Mariampur village bordering Meghalaya

One person died while 158 persons fell ill due to an alleged case of food poisoning in Assam’s Goalpara district on Friday, officials said.

The affected persons reportedly told police that they fell ill after eating fish served to them. (Representative file image)

Deputy commissioner (DC) of Goalpara, Khanindra Choudhury said that at least 158 persons were admitted to the hospital while one person died on Friday morning.

According to official reports, the affected people had attended a feast followed by a religious event organised in Mariampur village bordering Meghalaya.

After eating the food, people started feeling unwell.

The deceased person was identified, and his body has been for post mortem. A case has also been filed against the organisers.

Police said that they are yet to ascertain the reason behind the death.

“We are investigating if the person died due to food poisoning or due to other reasons. Things will be clearer once we get the post-mortem report,” the official said.

Superintendent of Police in Goalpara district, Rakesh Reddy said they are investigating the matter with the help of other departments of local administration.

“A case has been registered. The investigation is underway,” he said.

The DC has ordered a magisterial-level inquiry into the incident.

The affected persons reportedly told police that they fell ill after eating fish served to them. Following that, the fishery department collected samples for testing.

“Some samples were also sent to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) laboratory outside the state. Once we get the reports, the reason behind this can be ascertained.” DC said.