Peddapalli: Two children died and three others of a family took ill after consuming toxic food in Eesampeta of Anthargoan mandal.
According to police, Srishailam, a farmer, his wife Gunavathi, mother Saramma, sons Shivanandh and Sharan fell sick after consuming watermelon on Thursday evening.
Alert neighbours shifted them to district headquarters hospital, Karimangar, where Shivanadh (12) and Sharan (10) died on Friday while undergoing treatment. The condition of Gunavathi is said to be serious.
According to neighbors, the family took ill after consuming watermelon which was eaten by rats. They consumed half a portion of watermelon on Monday and the remaining part on Thursday.
Since there were a number of rats in the house, they placed rat poison in different places to kill them. The rats may have also eaten the watermelon after consuming the poison leading to the tragedy, the neighbours said.
Police registered a case and began investigation. Anthergoan SI Nuthi Sridhar suspected that the family members fell sick due to food poisoning. There was watermelon, chicken and other food items in the house. The victims may have consumed the food after they were eaten by the rats, he suspected.
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