AHMEDABAD: A five-year-old Dhyani Thakkar’s sudden death after being administered a cold-and-cough syrup has triggered shockwaves in Gujarat, with her aunt alleging foul play. She is questioning the medicine’s safety and demanding justice as police await the postmortem report.
The mysterious death of the girl living with her grandparents in Gujarat’s Vadodara has turned into a full-blown mystery, with relatives pitting against each other and raising chilling questions over what really happened.
Dhyani, who lost both her parents at a very young age, was being raised by her grandparents and relatives.
By all accounts, she was a cheerful child deeply loved, closely cared for.
According to family members, Dhyani was given cold-and-cough syrup brought from a medical store by her uncle. Soon after consuming the medicine, her condition allegedly began to worsen rapidly.
As panic set in, the child was rushed from one hospital to another, but before treatment could even begin, Dhyani was declared dead. The tragedy took a darker turn when her aunt, Rupal Patel, raised serious suspicions and halted the last rites.
“I received a call around 8 am saying Dhyani’s health was very bad and that I should come to Vadodara,” Rupal told the media.
“Even before I could reach, another call came stating she had died. When we arrived, preparations for the last rites had already begun. That’s when we became suspicious and immediately called the police. We demanded a postmortem. Now, we are waiting for the report.”
Rupal did not mince words while alleging something was amiss.
“Something strange has happened to this child,” she said.
“Whether it was a side effect of the medicine or something else, this must be investigated. I have serious doubts about the quality and effectiveness of the syrup brought from the medical store. We want justice.”
However, the grandparents have strongly rejected all allegations, calling them baseless and emotionally devastating.
Dhyani’s grandmother, Anju Ben Thakkar, broke down while defending the family. “She was our own daughter,” she said.
“We raised her, educated her, cared for her in every possible way. Why would we ever harm her? I am her grandmother,” she said.
She also hinted at a long-standing family dispute, alleging that the maternal aunt’s accusations may be linked with property issues.
“Her aunt had earlier taken the girls after a fight,” Anju Ben claimed.
“After a few days, she sent Dhyani back, saying the elder girl had fractured her leg while playing. We never forced her to bring the child back.”
Refuting claims of poisoning, she added, “Dhyani had a common cold and cough. We gave her a normal syrup. How can anyone say we gave her the medicine to kill her?”
The grandmother further alleged intimidation during the postmortem process.
“When the postmortem was going on, her aunt threatened me,” she claimed.
“She said if we don’t register all property in the child’s name, she will drag us to the police station.” Dhyani’s uncle, Shailesh Thakkar, described the child’s passing away as not planned.
“She was roaming around the city all day and was very happy,” he said.
“She had gone to visit a relative who had a newborn daughter, and later even came to my friend’s office. When I returned home at night, everyone was sleeping peacefully. I thought there was no need to give medicine at night and postponed it.”
According to Shailesh, the real crisis unfolded early the next morning.
“Around 6:30 to 7:45 am, my mother woke me up,” he said.
“We rushed her to Shreeji Hospital. The doctors expressed suspicion and advised us to go elsewhere. We went to Ankur Hospital, but the doctor wasn’t available. Finally, at Kashiba Hospital, doctors declared her dead,” Shailesh said.
With conflicting narratives, emotional accusations, and unanswered medical questions, the case now hinges on the postmortem report, which police say will determine whether the child died due to a drug reaction, medical negligence, or other reasons.
