BHOPAL: Three sisters aged nine months, four years and seven years died within three hours in Madhya Pradesh's Chhatarpur district on Saturday, prompting authorities to exhume their bodies hours after the family buried them and launch a multi-department investigation.
The deaths were reported from Pipora village, where four-year-old Manisha died at a hospital around 8 am, followed by the death of seven-year-old Poonam at 9 am and nine-month-old Chahat at 10 am.
The family buried all three bodies between 10.30 am and 11 am. The village sarpanch subsequently informed the police about the deaths and the burials, following which police and district administration teams reached the village and exhumed the bodies.
“All three bodies have been sent for autopsy,” Chhatarpur Superintendent of Police Rajat Sakhlecha told TNIE on Saturday.
The three girls reportedly suffered repeated bouts of vomiting before their deaths. However, the exact cause of death is yet to be established and is expected to be determined through autopsy and laboratory tests.
During the preliminary inquiry, members of the bereaved Kushwaha family told officials that Poonam and Manisha had eaten chapatis and brinjal bharta along with other family members on Friday night. Chahat, the youngest, had only been fed breast milk.
Teams from the district administration, police, food and health departments are investigating the deaths. Officials from the food and health departments have collected food and other samples from the family's house for laboratory analysis.
Sources said the possibility of pesticide exposure is also being examined. Pesticide pouches were reportedly kept inside foodgrain stored at the house, and investigators are looking into whether they could have played a role in the deaths.
The authorities are awaiting the autopsy reports and laboratory test results to establish what caused the deaths.