2 dead, 3 fall sick in a suspected case of food poisoning

In a suspected case of food poisoning, two members of a tribal family died while three others fell sick after having dinner, police said on Saturday.

Mikhail Barla, 60, his wife Merry Pushpa Topno along with their two sons and a relative had dinner Friday night and went to sleep, they said.

However, Mikhail and his son Pratik Barla (24) were found dead at around 1 am while Merry Pushpa, their other son Premlal Barla and Premlal's brother-in-law Vinod Kandir's complaint of uneasiness, sources said.

Mikhail's younger son Manish Barla, who did not had the meal, told newsmen that they (victims) had food on Friday night at home and went to sleep.

Around 1 AM, his mother and brother complaint of uneasiness, he said.

"Today (Saturday) morning, we rushed them all to Sadar hospital, where doctors declared Mikhail and Pratik dead and referred Merry Pushpa, Premlal and Vinod to Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences, Ranchi," he said.

Confirming the incident, Officer-in-charge of Murhu police station, Udai Gupta said the bodies have been sent for post-mortem.

The cause of death could be confirmed only after post-mortem report was received, the OC added.