Nearly 100 uniformed law-enforcers, including members of the Rapid Action Battalion and Armed Police Battalion, plainclothesmen, and fire fighters on ICC Cricket World Cup duty in Dhaka got food poisoning on Tuesday, officials said.
Most of them were admitted to Central Police Hospital at Rajarbagh and the rest to Dhaka Medical College Hospital and the Mirpur branch of ICDDR,B.
The victims, who were on duty at Sher-e-Bangla Stadium and Dhaka Sheraton Hotel, fell sick after eating the food supplied by Fri Exims Bangladesh Limited, an event management and catering company, the officials said.
A sick RAB constable, Korban Ali, said at Central Police Hospital that he received the launch-pack, which included fried rice, a piece of chicken, and an egg, at about 1:00pm and started to vomit after eating the food.
‘They started vomiting shortly after having the food,’ said retired colonel Mesbahuddin, the security chief for the local organising committee.
A total of 93 patients, mostly suffering from dehydration caused by non-stop vomiting and diarrhoea, had been admitted to Central Police Hospital till 11:00pm, CPH superintendent AKM Nizam Uddin told New Age.
The number of patients would increase as around 160 people had received the packets of lunch cooked by Rahmania Hotel and Restaurant.
Seven of the victims – six fire fighters and a plainclothesman – admitted to the DMCH, the sources said.
The Motijheel police arrested seven people, including the suppliers, distributors, and employees of Rahmania Hotel and Restaurant in this connection, the police said.
The incident took place on the eve of the first quarter-final match between Pakistan and West Indies.
Bangladesh arranged tight security for the World Cup teams after brickbats had been pelted at a bus carrying the West Indies team following a group match in Dhaka this month.
Inspector general of police Hasan Mahmud Khandaker visited the patients. He told the media that they were looking into the matter but the security arrangement would not be hampered due to the incident.
Chowdhury Mahmuda Akhter Shwely, a physician at the police hospital, said they kept the patients under round-the-clock observation and sent samples of their stools and vomit to the Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research.
‘We will learn the reason after the tests,’ she said.
One of the arrested, Rahmania Hotel manager Shuvash Chandra Haldar, told New Age under police custody that they received an order to supply 600 packets of fried rice with chicken (chicken polaw), 70 of Tehari, and 20 of plain rice from the local contractor, Fri Exims.
Shuvash admitted that the local supplier sourced the food from them as it was cheaper at their restaurant.
Meanwhile, RAB executive magistrate AHM Anwar Pasha in a mobile court drive sentenced Mohammad Kazal, 25, owner of the restaurant, to one year and three months in prison and the cook, Sultan, 55, to three month in jail.
Anwar Pasha said they had already been sent to jail.
Courtesy of New Age
