50 fall ill after having prasad' in Assam village

Guwahati, August 23 (PTI): More than 50 people were taken ill and treated for suspected food poisoning after having prasad', comprising gram and fruits, at a religious function in Assam's Charaideo district, a police official said on Monday.

A villager organised the event at his house and distributed prasad' among the neighbouring households on Sunday afternoon.

Soon after consuming the prasad', people complained of stomachache and vomiting.

Over 50 villagers were admitted to the Geleki Block Primary Health Centre since Sunday night with similar symptoms of food poisoning and their condition is stable now, the official said.

A team of Food and Civil Supplies Department visited the village under Geleki police station on Monday morning and seized the remaining stock of gram from the shop from which the villager had procured it.

An investigation has been started to determine how the food poisoning had been caused, the official added.