A 15-year-old boy died in Chhattisgarh after reportedly falling ill soon after eating cut watermelon, days after a similar incident in Mumbai drew attention.
The boy, identified as Akhilesh Tiwari from Boditalha village, had attended a wedding in Gurkot village in Janjgir-Champa district and later went to his uncle’s house. On the evening of May 10, he and a few other boys ate watermelon that had been cut and kept aside.
Soon after, the boys developed vomiting and diarrhoea, and also faced breathing difficulty. The next day, they were taken to the district hospital, but Akhilesh died on the way. The other boys have been admitted to the emergency ward.
Doctors suspect food poisoning, possibly because the cut watermelon was consumed after being kept for several hours. The body has been sent for post-mortem, internal organs have been preserved for forensic examination, and food safety officials have taken another watermelon from the house for laboratory testing.
The incident has caused shock, coming shortly after four members of a single family in Mumbai’s Pydhonie area reportedly died after eating watermelon.
