MUMBAI: After panic spread due to the death of a 12-year-old girl, in the Baiganwadi slum area of East Mumbai on Friday, around 200 children from the area were admitted to civic hospitals, health officials have said.
Chandani Sahil Sheikh, the girl, who died on Thursday night, studied at the Municipal Urdu School No 2 in Govandi area. All the students of the school were administered iron and folic acid tablets on Monday under national program to fight anemia.
After Chandani’s death on Thursday night, her parents blamed the death on the tablets given to the students at the school. This led to panic and around 200 children were admitted to civic hospitals in the vicinity by Friday noon, officials from BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) have said. All the children were examined by paediatricians and advised discharge from hospitals soon after.
According to the statement issued by the BMC, “While details of her previous illness are not known, there were no reports of any untoward incident” during the national programme to fight anemia.
Padmaja Keskar, Executive Health Officer, BMC said the tablets given to the students were "tried and tested", adding that the cause of the girl's death would only be known once the post-mortem report came in.
The officials said that while 161 the other students from the school who were panicked after the death, were taken to the civic body-run Rajawadi Hospital at Ghatkopar and around 40 others were admitted to the Shatabdi Hospital at Govandi.
"A few children complained of nausea and giddiness. However, no one had major signs or symptoms," a senior BMC official said, who added that all the children were examined by paediatricians and advised discharge from the hospitals.
Police said the incident was being probed.