Mumbai family feasts on biryani, watermelon, all 4 found dead next morning

A late-night meal, sudden illness and a race to save four lives. What unfolded inside a Mumbai home has left more questions than answers, with investigators awaiting crucial postmortem findings.

In Short

• Relatives joined the household dinner and left at about 10:30 pm
• They ate watermelon around 1 am before symptoms emerged by dawn
• Vomiting, loose motions and weakness were reported as their condition worsened

A suspected food poisoning incident has claimed four lives in Mumbai, with a family wiped out overnight and officials trying to piece together what led to the sudden deaths.

The incident was reported from the Paydhuni area, where Abdullah Dokadia (40), his wife Nasreen Dokadia (35), and their two daughters Ayesha (16) and Zainab (13) died under suspicious circumstances.

According to preliminary information, the family had dinner at home on Saturday and had invited relatives over. After eating biryani, they later consumed watermelon late at night. Within hours, their condition began to deteriorate.

EYEWITNESS RECOUNTS FINAL MOMENTS

A doctor living in the same building, who rushed to help, described the scene inside the house.

“This incident happened on the second floor and I live on the fourth floor. When I reached, there were four people inside, including two daughters and the husband. They were in a drowsy state. One of the daughters was gasping for breath. She was panting and had no pulse,” he said.

“As a doctor, I understood the situation and started CPR on her. But she was not reviving. We immediately shifted her to a nearby hospital, but by the time she reached there, she was already dead.”

POLICE VERSION

Deputy Commissioner of Police Pravin Munde said, “An unnatural death report has been registered at JJ Marg police station. Four members of a Muslim family, husband, wife and their two daughters, have died. On April 25, they had called relatives home and ate together. Around 10:30 pm, the relatives left. Later at night, around 1 am, they ate watermelon. By early morning around 5–6 am, they started complaining of vomiting and loose motions.”

RUSH TO HOSPITAL

As their condition worsened rapidly, the family was taken to a nearby hospital and later referred to JJ Hospital. Despite medical efforts, all four died during treatment.

Local resident Dr Zaid Qureshi said, “Their condition worsened suddenly at night. They had vomiting, diarrhoea and weakness. They were rushed to hospital, but could not be saved.”

POLITICAL REACTION

Waris Pathan, national spokesperson of All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen, said, “In Mumbai, eating watermelon led to the death of four members of the same family. This is an extremely tragic, serious and heart-wrenching incident. Our demand is that the government investigate this incident, find the real cause of the deaths, and make the report public.”

PROBE UNDER WAY

Police have registered a case of accidental death and launched an investigation. Food and biological samples have been collected during the postmortem to determine the exact cause.

DCP Munde said, “Postmortem has been conducted. Food samples and body samples have been taken. Further investigation is underway.”

While food poisoning is suspected, authorities have not ruled out other possibilities. The exact cause of death will be confirmed only after forensic and postmortem reports are completed.

- Ends