In a tragic incident in Banjara Hills, Hyderabad, a 33-year-old woman identified as Reshma Begum lost her life while food poisoning afflicted 20 others due to momos that a hawker had consumed. The incident occurred after Reshma and her two daughters, aged 12 and 14, bought the popular street food from a vendor in Khairatabad on Friday. Soon after consumption, they developed serious symptoms of diarrhea, stomach ache, and vomiting. Reshma died in the wee hours of Sunday morning while her two daughters remained under treatment.
According to Ram Babu, sub-inspector of Banjara Hills Police Station, an immediate investigation was taken based on a complaint filed regarding the incident. “We received information yesterday that one Reshma Begum died, and 15 others fell sick after eating momos supplied by a single vendor at different locations,” he said.
It was observed that the vendor was operating without a food safety license and preparing food in an extremely unhygienic environment. Surprisingly, the dough for the momos was kept in an uncovered refrigerator, and the refrigerator door was broken. A sample of the vendor’s food has been sent to the laboratory for analysis to identify the cause of the food poisoning.
Following a complaint from Reshma’s family, the street vendor was tracked down by officials of Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation’s food safety department with the help of the local police. The police arrested two people running the stall and booked a case under culpable homicide, not amounting to murder against them.
