IMPHAL: Three Assam Rifles personnel stationed at Leimaram Waroiching in Kangpokpi district of Manipur have died due to suspected food poisoning, officials said on Tuesday.
Officials said the three were among the five personnel who were admitted to the Regional Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) in Imphal on Monday following food poisoning symptoms such as vomiting.
The three have been identified as Lance Naik Rama Shankar, 59, a resident of Uttar Pradesh’s Ballia district, Havildar Umesh Kumar, 49, a resident of Buxar district in Bihar, and Warrant Officer (GD) Phoolchand, 56, from Dehradun in Uttarakhand.
Shankar died on Monday while Kumar and Phoolchand died in the early hours of Tuesday. Their bodies will be sent to their family after post-mortem.
The two other personnel, Rifleman Ghanashyam Singh, 48, from Atrarson Village, Chhapra district in Bihar, and Naib Subedar (GD) Gagan Singh, 59, from Haridwar district in Uttarakhand, are reported to be out of danger, the hospital said.
A doctor at the hospital said the soldiers were brought in with symptoms of food poisoning but declined to comment on the cause of death till the autopsy report comes in.
A Manipur police officer said they have asked the paramilitary force to hand over bottles of liquor consumed by the soldiers.
An AR officer rejected suggestions that the deaths could be linked to spurious liquor, underlining that it was a suspected case of food poisoning. He said the five were rushed to hospital on Monday after complaining of chest pain and vomiting.
Police have registered an unnatural death case in connection with the incident, and an investigation is underway.
