LAYYAH/LAHORE: As death toll in Layyah poisonous sweetmeats incident rises to 27 after a young woman patient expired at Jinnah Hospital here on Wednesday, the Punjab chief minister has formed a committee to probe into the tragedy.

The latest casualty is a 20-year-old woman Nusrat Bibi, a resident of 105 ML village, who was among the 20 patients shifted to Lahore from Layyah on the direction of Punjab government for better treatment.

Four other patients -- Bashir, Razia and two minors Aisha and Sanwal -- are also said to be in a critical condition.

DPO’s report mentions ‘highly toxic’ substance as death cause

Out of these, only Bashir has been shifted to the intensive care unit (ICU) of the Jinnah Hospital as the facility lacks space for the others.

Meanwhile, Punjab chief minister has ordered a thorough probe into the matter and has constituted an inquiry committee. The body is headed by CM Inspection Team (CMIT) Chairman Muhammad Irfan, while DG Khan DCO Mr Yasrab, Professor of Medicine Muhammad Irshad Quraishi (Mayo Hospital), Surgeon (Medico Legal) Waseem Haider, Transit Lab chairman Muhammad Anjum, Punjab Food Authority DG Sajjad Irfan and Agriculture DG Dr Anjum Ali are its members.

The committee will probe the matter and submit the report to chief minister in three days.

DPO’S REPORT: The Layyah district police officer in his preliminary report has stated that “highly toxic” chemicals were the cause of death of 26 people who consumed sweetmeat.

DPO retired Capt Mohammad Ali Zia submitted his report to the inspector general of Punjab police on Wednesday.

He said his report was finalised on the basis of the findings of the Punjab Forensic Science Agency that had examined the swabs taken from the victims stomachs.

Mr Zia said the swabs of all 26 people who died in the incident showed excessive traces of highly toxic chemicals which had caused their death, the DPO’s report said.

He said sweet shop owner brothers Tariq and Khalid would prepare sweetmeats at their factory with the help of their employee Hamid.

As Tariq also owned four-acre agriculture land, he had stored some sacks of pesticide at his shop where the sweetmeats were prepared, the DPO mentioned.

He said the pesticide got inadvertently mixed with the sweetmeats during production process. The police had already lodged a case against Tariq, Khalid their helper Hamid and arrested them.

Mr Ali Zia further said the district police had also arrested an official of the agriculture department, besides three more employees of the factory, during investigation of the case.

Fatehpur police have converted section 322 into section 302 of PPC according to DSP Karor Rameez Bhukari.

Published in Dawn, April 28th, 2016