Toddler dies, pakwan house owner, cook get bail

A cook and owner of Mezban Pakwan House were arrested after a toddler died from eating their food in a relief camp.

KARACHI: A cook and the owner of Mezban Pakwan House were arrested and released on bail Tuesday after a toddler died from eating their food in a relief camp.

Three-year-old Anita Ahmed and her mother were among the 60 people who fell ill on Monday after eating daal or lentil curry at the Ibrahim Hyderi camp for flood survivors. Most of the people were discharged after being given first aid and have returned to the camp. But Anita and her mother were taken to Jinnah hospital in a critical condition. Anita passed away Tuesday evening.

“We belong to Juman Korejo Goth of Thatta district and had no idea that something like this could happen,” said Ali Ahmed, Anita’s father. “It would have been better if we had stayed with a relative in Thatta.” As the graveyards in their hometown are flooded, the family has decided to bury Anita near the camp.

As news of the girl’s death reached the camp, people refused to go back in. People sitting around Ali Ahmed told The Express Tribune that they blamed officials of the revenue department. “Since people had not eaten for about 15 hours, they were hungry and had no choice but to eat whatever they got,” said Noor Ahmed Mallah, a group leader at the camp.

The police registered case No 314/10 under sections 269, 272, 273 and 34 against the Mukhtiarkar (revenue official), Asadullah Abbasi, Mezban Pakwan House owner Mohammed Amir Shamim and one of his cooks Saifuddin.

However, only the caterer and cook were arrested. As the offence was bailable, they were released within a few hours.

“We have come to the conclusion that out of eight cauldrons there was a problem in one or two of them,” said Ibrahim Hyderi Investigation Officer Khurram, adding that 48 people fell ill.

He said that the Mukhtiarkar had “forced” people to eat the meal despite complaints that the dal smelt off. When the police recorded statements in the camp, people quoted the Mukhtiarkar as saying: “This is a temporary camp. You are making a fuss that there is a smell in the food. If you don’t eat, we can move you to the Pipri camp.”

For his part, Mukhtiarkar Abbasi told The Express Tribune that it was the duty of the doctors to check the food before serving it to the people. “The quality of the food supplied by Mezban Pakwan House was good and people were happy,” he said. “But I don’t know what happened that day.” The caterer was providing food to 1,200 people. Sometimes philanthropists also supplied food to the camp.

For his part, Mezban Pakwan House owner Mohammed Amir Shamim told The Express Tribune that they had not supplied the dal. “We were asked to provide potatoes and cauliflower,” he told The Express Tribune. “When our catering team reached the camp, it found the people ill and our staff came back with the meal.” Shamim maintained that the dal was provided by another pakwan house run by Abdul Rashid.

When contacted, Abdul Rashid said that revenue official Abbasi had placed an order for dal for a Hawkesbay camp and not Ibrahim Hyderi. He maintained that the dal was sent to Hawkesbay and no order from their kitchen went to Ibrahim Hyderi. Abdul Rashid said that Mezban Pakwan House had supplied the dal.

The police have submitted a sample of the food to a laboratory at Services Hospital. But a doctor at the lab said that it would take a few days to discover what kind of bacteria it was. “No lab in Pakistan can determine the result within 24 hours,” said lab chief Dr Fazal Ellahi Memon. “Let the bacteria grow properly in order for us to reach a conclusion.”

Meanwhile, scared people in the camp want to go home. One revenue officer at the camp said that they were told to pay the expenses and they had no way of transporting these people home to Thatta.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 8^th, 2010.