Five children of the same family died in Karachi on Friday after allegedly consuming unwholesome food, police told Dawn. According to Superintendent of Police (SP) Gulshan Tahir Noorani, the siblings ranging between the ages of 1.5 years and 10-years-old and their parents had consumed food from a restaurant in the Saddar area.
All five siblings passed away today, while their mother is in critical condition, the SP said, adding that further action would be taken after recording her statement. Deputy Inspector General South Sharjeel Kharal said that the family had eaten food from the said restaurant.
after which his wife and children fell sick. They were taken to a private hospital where the children expired. Their mother remains under treatment. The father said that his family had also had lunch at a friend's home in Balochistan's Khuzdar area earlier in the day, before consuming chips and juice in Hub.
The family hails from Quetta.Police said they would attempt to track down samples of all the food that the family had consumed on their journey from Quetta to Karachi. Karachi police chief Dr. Amir Ahmed Shaikh took notice of the incident and instructed the DIG South to furnish an inquiry report on the investigation into the case as well as action taken so far by the police.
DIG South told the media that 15 staff members of the restaurant have been detained and "the crime scene has been secured". A four-member team has also been formed to conduct the post-mortem examination of the deceased.
Meanwhile, Sindh Food Authority (SFA), in its report to Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah, stated that the family had bought food from the restaurant and consumed it in their room at Qasr-e-Naz - a government lodge. The mother had started vomiting soon after so the husband took her to the hospital.
Upon his return to their room, the report said, he found the children and a relative unconscious. The children were pronounced dead at the hospital. The food authority told the chief minister that it has secured food samples from both the restaurants as well as the room that the family was staying in. The samples are being sent for testing, it added.
The chief minister instructed Commissioner Karachi to personally meet the affected family's father and make their travel arrangements if they want to go back to Quetta. "I am deeply saddened by this incident, and I can feel the parents' pain," Shah said. "They will get justice."
AIG Shaikh has requested Karachiites, who had consumed food especially biryani from Naubahar Restaurant on February 21 (Thursday) and experienced any discomfort, to contact the police on either its Whatsapp number (0343-5142770) or its landline number (021-99225500). The incident comes months after two minor brothers had died in Karachi after consuming food from an upscale restaurant.
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