14-year-old dies after eating shawarma
Four other members of the girl’s family, including the 12-year-old boy, who also suffered from symptoms of food poisoning, were admitted in the Namakkal Government Medical College and Hospital
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COIMBATORE: A 14-year-old girl, who ate shawarma from a hotel on Paramathi Road in Namakkal, died on Monday.
Police said Kalaiarasi, a Class 9 student at Kottai Government School, fell ill after she ate shawarma from Iwins Restaurant on Saturday night. Her mother Sujatha (38) from Santhaipettai brought home parcels of shawarma and tandoori chicken from the hotel.
“Sujatha, her daughter Kalaiarasi, son Boopathy (12), and their relatives Sinoj and Kavitha had the food. The girl developed diarrhea, vomiting and fever, and Sujatha took her to a private hospital on Sunday night after her condition worsened. But as it was a holiday, there were no doctors in the hospital and the girl was taken back home,” police said.
The girl went to sleep, but didn’t wake up in the morning. As she lay motionless, the panicked family members rushed her to Namakkal Government Hospital, where doctors found the girl to have died already. Four other members of the girl’s family, including the 12-year-old boy, who also suffered from symptoms of food poisoning, were admitted in the Namakkal Government Medical College and Hospital.
Meanwhile, 13 students of Namakkal Government Medical College, who were hospitalised after they ate shawarma from the same hotel, were under continuous treatment. They all were said to be in stable condition. Namakkal Collector S Uma said that a total of 43 persons, including five children and a pregnant woman, have fallen ill with complications like vomiting, diarrhea and fever after they consumed various non vegetarian food items from the hotel. Of them, 18 persons are undergoing treatment in private hospitals.
“We held a meeting with authorities of private hospitals and insisted that they admit those coming with symptoms of food poisoning as in-patients and provide better treatment. Apart from shawarma, the medical college students have also consumed some other non-vegetarian fast food items from the hotel,” the Collector said.
The Collector added that an inquiry is being carried out by the Deputy Director of Public Health Services over the absence of a doctor in the private hospital where the girl was taken for treatment.
“If there is any negligence on the part of the hospital, then action will be taken,” she said.
Soon after the issue broke out, a team of Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) officials led by Uma sealed the hotel on Sunday. “During our inspection, we didn’t find any expired food items. However, the food samples have been sent for a laboratory analysis to Salem to ascertain the reason,” she said.
Last year, the officials cracked down on hotels and roadside eateries selling shawarma across Tamil Nadu after a girl died after eating rotten shawarma in Kerala.Namakkal Superintendent of Police Rajesh Kannan said that hotel owner Naveen Kumar from Siluvampatti and cooks Sanjay Mahaboor and Thapaz Kumar, both from Odisha, were booked under non-bailable sections and further inquiries are on.
Meanwhile, the FSSAI has issued a temporary ban on selling fast food items like shawarma and grilled chicken in hotels in Namakkal. “Inspections will be done in hotels to ensure their compliance,” said an official.
