Police said the hakeem gave Yaqoob some medicine that could be added to a sweet.
A man died and seven members of a family, including two children, fainted here on Thursday after eating a sweet meant to provide pain relief.
The affected people were taken to a hospital, where condition of one of them was said to be critical.
Athara Hazari police said Muhammad Yaqoob, a farmer in Jamali Khurd village, had been suffering from knee pain and a neighbour had recommended that he visit a hakeem in the area.
They said the hakeem gave him some medicine that could be added to a sweet. Yaqoob was told to mix the medicine in the sweet. He was told the medicated sweet would provide pain relief.
The police quoted one of the family members as saying that Yaqoob shared the sweet with his wife Allah Wasai, sons Muhammad Javaid and Muhammad Zahid, sister Mumtaz Bibi, cousin Ashiq Hussain, nephew Sajjad and niece Ramla.
Shortly after eating the sweet, police said, Yaqoob fainted. Some neighbours, who said they heard disturbance in the house, rushed to see what had happened.
They said they found the entire family lying unconscious.
They were taken to the neighbourhood hospital, from there they were sent to district headquarters hospital in Jhang.
Doctors at the DHQ Hospital pronounced Yaqoob dead, saying the medicine had probably caused a heart attack. They said Zahid’s condition was critical.
The Athara Hazari station house officer said Yaqoob’s body had been sent for a post-mortem examination.
He said a police team had visited the hakeem’s clinic, but had not found him. The SHO said police were looking for him.
He said the police had looked for leftovers to send it for laboratory tests, but did not find any.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 3rd, 2014.
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