Chhattisgarh ‘Watermelon Death’ Case: Boy Dies, Three Children Fall Ill After Eating Fruit in Janjgir-Champa District
A 15-year-old boy died and three children fell ill after consuming cut watermelon in Janjgir-Champa district of Chhattisgarh, officials said. Food poisoning is suspected, though tests are pending. The case has drawn comparisons to the Mumbai ‘Watermelon Death’ incident, where a family of four died earlier this year under suspected toxic contamination.
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A 15-year-old boy has died and three children have fallen ill after consuming cut watermelon in a village in Chhattisgarh’s Janjgir-Champa district, officials said on Monday, May 11. Authorities suspect food contamination, though the exact cause of illness is yet to be confirmed.
The incident took place in Ghurkot village, where the children were visiting their maternal uncle’s house. All four reportedly consumed watermelon that had been cut and kept for several hours before being eaten. Mumbai ‘Watermelon Death’ Case Mystery Solved: Toxic Rat Poison Behind Tragedy, Not Fruit, Say Officials.
Chhattisgarh ‘Watermelon Death’ Case
The deceased has been identified as Akhilesh Dhivar (15), a resident of Podi Dalha village. The other affected children are Shri Dhivar (4), Pintu Dhivar (12) and Hitesh Dhivar (13). According to hospital officials, symptoms began a few hours after consumption.
“As per preliminary information, the children consumed cut watermelon kept at the house on Sunday evening. A few hours later, Akhilesh started vomiting, had diarrhoea and breathing difficulties. Similar symptoms were later noticed in the other three children as well,” said district hospital civil surgeon Dr S Kujur. What Is Zinc Phosphide, the Rat Poison and Watermelon-Linked Toxin That Killed a Mumbai Family?
He added that the children were brought to hospital in ambulances at different times on Monday. Akhilesh was declared brought dead on arrival, while the other three are undergoing treatment.
Health officials have said the watermelon was reportedly cut in the morning and consumed much later, raising concerns about possible contamination. “Prima facie, the children may have suffered food poisoning due to consumption of contaminated watermelon. The body of the teenager has been sent for post-mortem and viscera samples have been preserved for forensic examination. Another watermelon kept at the house was sent to the food safety department for laboratory testing,” Dr Kujur said. Authorities said final conclusions will depend on forensic and food safety reports.
The incident has drawn comparisons with a recent case in Mumbai’s Pydhonie area, where four members of a family died after consuming watermelon, in what investigators suspect may have involved toxic contamination. In that case, forensic reports reportedly detected zinc phosphide, a highly toxic substance used as a rodenticide, in samples taken from the victims.
The victims were identified as Abdulla Dokadia (44), his wife Nasrin (35), and their daughters Aayesha (16) and Zaineb (13). They developed severe symptoms shortly after consuming watermelon at home and died during treatment.
Officials in Chhattisgarh have not linked the two incidents and have stressed that the cause of the latest case remains under investigation. Health authorities said only laboratory analysis and post-mortem findings will determine whether contamination, food poisoning or another factor led to the illness and death.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 12, 2026 12:14 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).
