Mumbai: In a case of suspected food poisoning, around 200 people fell ill after consuming ‘prasad’ during a religious programme at Lonar in Maharashtra’s Buldhana district. The incident took place on Tuesday night during the ‘Harinam Saptah’, a week-long religious event, at Somthana village in Lonar taluka. 

Speaking to PTI, Buldhana district collector Kiran Patil said, “Around 200 villagers complained of nausea and vomiting after consuming prasad during the function. While 142 of them were admitted to the rural hospital at Bibi, 20 others in Lonar and 35 patients to a facility in Mehkar."

The condition of all the patients was stable and most of them were discharged on Wednesday. A team of doctors has been deployed in the village with an ambulance and other necessary equipment in case a medical emergency arises, he said. Videos doing rounds on social media showed hundreds of patients lying on the ground beneath trees, while saline bottles were hanging from ropes, their ends tied securely to the branches above.

“Samples of prasad have been sent to a laboratory for analysis and an inquiry will be initiated,” the collector said.