Three Assam Rifles personnel die, 2 hospitalise of suspected food poisoning in Kangpokpi district of Manipur

Imphal : Three personnel from the 33 Assam Rifles (AR), stationed at Leimaram Waroiching in Kangpokpi district of Manipur, died after reportedly suffering from food poisoning, while two others have been hospitalised.

The incident unfolded after five personnel were admitted to a hospital in Imphal starting Monday, showing symptoms of vomiting and unconsciousness.

The five personnel were initially hospitalised at the Regional Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) in Imphal.

One of them, Lance Naik Rama Shankar (F/3300339P), 59, from Janupur Village, Ballia District, Uttar Pradesh, was declared dead on Monday evening. His body was later deposited at the RIMS mortuary and will be transferred to his home state after a post-mortem examination.

Among the remaining four personnel, two Havildar Umesh Kumar (G/3300776), 49, from Pokhran village, Buxer district, Bihar, and Warrant Officer (GD) Phoolchand (G/3300518P), 56, from Indranagar Colony, Dehradun district also died on wee hour of Tuesday after receiving medical treatment.

The two other personnel, Rifleman Ghanashyam Singh (G/3300835), 48, from Atrarson village, Chhapra district, Bihar, and Naib Subedar (GD) Gagan Singh (G/3300240), 59, from Aadarsh Shivaji Colony, Haridwar district, Uttarakhand, are reported to be out of danger, said hospital authority.

Manipur police said, “The authorities at the AR post have declined to hand over the bottles of the consumed liquor to the New Keithelmanbi Police station, which has launched an investigation into the incident.”

A doctor at the hospital said, “They were brought in with symptoms of food poisoning, cannot confirm the cause of death until the report is available.”

The hospital authorities also refused to disclose the condition of the remaining personnel who were still undergoing treatment in the ICU.

This incident took place after a similar tragedy on January 13, when three personnel from the 63 Bn BSF, stationed at the Thoubal DC complex, died after allegedly consuming spurious liquor.

The victims H/C Ravinder Singh, 46, from Jammu and Kashmir, H/C Chandra, 54, from Uttar Pradesh, and Vipendra Singh Rawat, 45 were admitted to Shija Hospital and RIMS in Imphal after falling unconscious and they died one after another.

AR disagreed with the police statement that the cause of death could be adulterated countrymade liquor. “It could be food poisioning after consuming mushroom or something.”