SAGAR SURAJ

MOTIHARI:  A mysterious disease claiming five lives including four minors of the same family belongs to Sirsa colony under Mufasil police station. All the deaths were recorded within a week.

District health officials are still clueless while family members backed by villagers were up in arms against district administration. They blocked Motihari-Madhubani ghat road on Saturday. Swung into action, east champaran district magistrate Shirshat Kapil Ashok asked civil surgeons to bring bodies in an ambulance for autopsy. DM’s immediate action doused the rages of villagers.

Notably, Ravindra Prasad 32 and his son Priyanshu 10 succumbed to the symptoms in the gap of few hours in the same days. Munni Kumari 14 and Satyam 4- brother and sister were also died. At first , Anshu 13 who died was a native of Bathna village in Banjariya  on last 26 august. Anshu would live in the house of her sister since her childhood in Sirsa village.

At the outset, three bodies were consigned in to the flame considering the deaths as natural but very next days two more children succumbed to the same symptoms enraging the villagers and victim family.

Doctors- part of a medical board undertaken the autopsy said that there is mysterious reason behind the all deaths. “Only the vesara to be sent to forensic science lab will reveal the reason behind deaths”, they said. All the victims first complained stomachache followed with froth from mouth leading the death.

In charge medical officer of PHC, Sadar Shrawan Paswan said that  in prima facie, it appears to be the case of snake biting or poisons being administered by any silent killer. “There are possible police case angles also behind the deaths. It may be possible that a close member of the family is poisoning all these family members silently.

On the other hand, district Indian medical association chief (IMA) Dr Ashutosh Sharan told that sudden death followed by stomachache, respiratory failure and froth are clear indications of ‘snake biting’ by poisonous snakes. Due to flood water submerged into villages, the snakes are out of their hibernation and spending their lives with villagers on the ground.  

Parshuram Prasad- a member of the victim family said that initially local doctors treated all patients considering it snake biting.