PATNA: Seven people have lost their lives after consuming poisonous tea in Bihar’s Saran and Muzaffarpur districts over two days. The tea is suspected to have been laced with a pesticide in both the incidents.
Four members of a family died at Bahdinpur village under Paru block of Muzaffarpur district within hour of consuming tea in their house on Saturday morning. Another minor child who also sipped the tea is struggling for life at Sri Krishna Medical College and Hospital (SKMCH), police said.
“Chandan Bhagat, 27, his wife Rekha Devi, 25, and their two minor children – son Sanjit Kumar, 7, and daughter Chandni Kumari, 5 – died after consuming tea. Samples of food items found in their house have been collected and sent for forensic examination,” said Paru SDPO Shankar Jha.
Prima facie there seemed to be no foul play, he said, adding that a preliminary probe indicated that the beverage was accidentally mixed with the pesticide thimet.
Three people – Chhathia Devi, 55, Devkali Devi, 64, and three-year-old Ankur – had lost their lives after consuming poison-laced tea at their home at Khirkia village in Saran district on Friday.
Most families in rural Bihar store pesticides in their homes for use in agriculture and often, due to improper storage practices, the poisonous material finds its way into food items and causes deaths.
In November, four people had similarly lost their lives at Pator in Bihar’s Darbhanga district. The tea they had consumed was found to have been laced with the pesticide thimet, said police sources.