HYDERABAD: A police team led by Cantonment ASP (additional superintendent of police) Abdullah Lak on Monday picked up managers of four different eateries located in the Cantt market in the city and collected samples of the food being offered by them.

The action was taken following the death of a four-year-old boy, Umer, who along with his twin sister, Aleeza, had eaten potato chips from an outlet in the market a day earlier. Aleeza’s condition had also turned critical but she survived after her stomach was washed at a hospital. Her condition was stated to be stable now.

Officials of the Cantonment Board Hyderabad (CBH) food section sealed three eateries and collected 30 samples which were being sent to a laboratory in Quetta for chemical examination.

ASP Lak told Dawn that the four managers were later let off on personal bond. He said the children’s mother was not available for identification of the outlet from where the chips were bought. “Once the outlet is identified, the staff responsible will be called,” he said.

The ASP said that Umer’s father, Abdul Sattar Mallah, did not want to lodge an FIR. However, in that case, the FIR would be registered by the police [on behalf of the state].

Mr Mallah, a resident of Power House Colony, Jamshoro, believed that his son was not given proper medical care at the well-known hospital he was taken to. He held the hospital staff responsible for Umer’s death.

“My twins had eaten chips in our colony in the morning but they didn’t have any problem till the evening, when my wife took them to a playland within the Cantonment Market in Hyderabad,” he said.

He said his children ate chips but he was not sure which outlet they were bought from. He said his wife was still in a state of shock.

He said that after they returned home at around 7pm, his children’s condition deteriorated and they were rushed to a major hospital.

“Umer needed a ventilator but we were not told that the hospital lacked one. My son lost his life when I was taking him to another hospital,” he said.

Published in Dawn, January 1st, 2019