Watermelon deaths in Chhattisgarh: One teen dead and three hospitalised after eating suspected contaminated seasonal fruit

Akhilesh Dhivar, a 15-year-old boy, died while three other children fell ill after allegedly consuming watermelon in Ghurkot village of Chhattisgarh’s Janjgir-Champa district, officials told PTI on Monday. The incident occurred when the children had visited their maternal uncle’s house along with relatives.

The deceased has been identified as Akhilesh Dhivar (15), a resident of Podi Dalha village. The other affected children include Shri Dhivar (4) from Avarid village, Pintu Dhivar (12) from Khatola and Hitesh Dhivar (13) from Kotgarh.

Incident and symptoms

According to district hospital civil surgeon Dr S Kujur, the children reportedly consumed cut watermelon kept at the house on Sunday evening. A few hours later, Akhilesh developed symptoms including vomiting, diarrhoea and breathing difficulties. Similar symptoms were later observed in the other three children.


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Hospitalisation and death

Dr Kujur stated that as their condition worsened, family members shifted them to the district hospital in ambulances at different times on Monday. Akhilesh was declared brought dead on arrival, while the other three children were admitted to the emergency ward.

Preliminary findings and investigation

Officials said the watermelon had reportedly been cut in the morning and consumed several hours later, raising the possibility of contamination. Dr Kujur said prima facie the case appears to be food poisoning due to consumption of contaminated watermelon.

The body of the deceased has been sent for post-mortem examination, and viscera samples have been preserved for forensic analysis. Another watermelon from the house has been sent to the food safety department for laboratory testing.

Authorities said the exact cause of death and illness will be confirmed after receipt of forensic and food safety reports.

(With inputs from PTI)