Nearly two hundred and nine (209) persons, including a large number of children, were admitted to Diphu Medical College and Hospital and in Bakulia Civil Hospital, around 65 kilometers from Diphu, since yesterday for acute food poisoning.
The incident happened within hours after thousands consumed packed lunch provided at an official meeting organized at Diphu Medical College and Hospital to mark the beginning of the first academic session of the institution on Tuesday.
It may be mentioned that the impressive ceremony was attended by Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal and Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sharma which witness a gathering of more than ten thousand people from various walks of life. Neither police nor the district administration has confirmed any causality. Unconfirmed sources have however claimed that one Kangbura Bey (35) of village Tetali Guri Bakulia succumbed to illness on Wednesday. Local police have sent the remains of the deceased to Diphu Medical College for autopsy. Till the filing of this report , most of the patients have been released, except the critically ill patients.