Kerala schoolgirl dies after having rotten shawarma

A 16-year-old schoolgirl died after allegedly having rotten shawarma from a snacks bar at Cheruvathur in Kasaragod district.

KASARAGOD: In a case of suspected food poisoning, a 16-year-old schoolgirl died and around 30 others fell sick after allegedly having rotten shawarma from a snacks bar at Cheruvathur in Kasaragod district.

The deceased has been identified as Devananda, the only child of EV Prasanna of Karivellur-Peralam grama panchayat in Kannur district. Her ailing father Narayanan died five months ago.

After completing class X in AV Smaraka Government Higher Secondary School in Karivellur, Devananda was planning to join school in Cheruvathur.

After Devananda’s death, Chandera police sealed Ideal Cool Bar and Food Point, and took into custody two of its workers, Sandesh Rai and Anex M. The snack bar’s owner, identified as Ahmed, has gone into hiding, said an officer of Chandera police station.

All the three are facing charges of culpable homicide not amounting to murder (Section 304 of the IPC), attempt to commit culpable homicide (Section 308 of the IPC), selling adulterated food (section 272 of the IPC), read with Section 34 of the IPC (committing a crime with a common intention).

District medical officer A V Ramdas said all the 31 patients who were admitted to the District Hospital said they had eaten chicken shawarma — a popular eastern Mediterranean doner — from Ideal on April 29 or 30. Most of them were in the age group of 10 to 15 years, and a few were in their early twenties.

Around 10 am on Sunday, around 15 students from Cheruvathur and neighbouring Pilicode panchayats came to Cheruvathur Community Health Centre complaining of vomiting, loose stools and fever since Saturday. They told the duty doctors that they had chicken shawarma in the afternoon of April 29 at Ideal.

The condition of Devananda started deteriorating and around 1.30 pm, she collapsed.

“She was shifted to the District Hospital  and died soon after.

After the initial 15 students, 15 other customers of Ideal got admitted to the district hospital with symptoms of food poisoning.

“All of them are stable now. But we are observing them,” Dr Ramdas said.

More doctors, including paediatricians, and staff were posted at Cheruvathur CHC to attend to cases of food poisoning, if the need arises, said the DMO.