Preliminary tests by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the Mumbai ‘watermelon deaths’ case has reportedly ruled out contamination in the fruit samples collected from the victims’ Bhendi Bazaar residence.
However, traces of morphine were found in their bodies, with internal organs reportedly turning unusually green, indicating poison, not watermelon, could be the reason behind their deaths.
Advertisement
Forty-year-old Abdullah, his 35-year-old wife Nasreen, and their daughters Zainab and Ayesha, aged 13 and 16, respectively, died under mysterious circumstances within around 24 hours late last month.
Advertisement
The family had reportedly hosted a dinner at their residence on April 25. They served mutton biryani to the guests.
After the dinner, they ate watermelon around 1-1.30 am in the night. Soon after that, they began to develop symptoms such as vomiting and diarrhoea.
However, none of the relatives who ate mutton biryani reported any such symptoms, raising suspicions that their deaths could be linked to the consumption of watermelon — the only food they didn’t share with the guests.
While the exact cause of their deaths still remains unclear, some reports citing forensic experts involved in the investigation have claimed the presence of unidentified particles in their bodies during the initial analysis.
A toxicology report is still awaited and the exact causes behind their deaths could only be known once it comes.
Advertisement
