BERHAMPUR: A 10-year-old boy died under mysterious circumstances reportedly after eating lollipops at Dimbirikholi village within Mohana police limits in Gajapati district on Saturday. The boy was identified as Baikuntha Sabar. Sources said the boy ate two lollipops from the village shop. He returned home and after some time, started to vomit. He reportedly told his mother Pramila that he ate the candies which were offered to him by shopkeeper Kartik Dalabehera. Soon after, Baikuntha died before he could be provided any treatment.
Alleging that the shopkeeper killed her son, Pramila along with other family members took Baikuntha’s body to Kartik’s house and asked him to bring the boy back to life. “My son was in sound health. He fell sick after having the lollipops. Initially, we suspected that a candy might be stuck in his throat. But nothing came out when he vomited. We believe the candies were injected with some poison,” claimed the mother.
As the shopkeeper refuted the allegation, tension flared up in the village. On being informed, police reached Dimbirikholi in the evening. The box containing lollipops was seized from the shop.
Police pacified the irate family members of the boy and sent his body to MKCG Medical College and Hospital for postmortem. Mohana IIC Prashant Nishika said other kids in the village who had lollipops from the shop are fine. “We believe the boy died due to some other reason. The exact cause of his death can be ascertained after the autopsy report arrives,” he said.
Besides, samples of the candy were sent for test. The shopkeeper has been asked not to leave the village without police permission, the IIC added. As tension continues to prevail in Dimbirikholi, police personnel have been deployed in the village.
13 fall sick after eating bamboo mushroom
Bhawanipatna: In a case of food poisoning, 13 persons of a family were taken ill after consuming bamboo mushroom at Tentulipada village under Budhidar panchayat in Kalahandi’s Junagarh block on Saturday night. All the 13 persons including six minors were admitted to Junagarh community health centre. Sources said they consumed bamboo mushrooms collected from their backyard in dinner. After sometime, they complained of head reeling and started to vomit. Their condition is stable.