10 police members of camp unconscious after dinner, hospitalised

Ten members of the police have fallen unconscious after eating dinner at Patikabari Police Camp in Kushtia Sadar upazila. They were rescued in an unconscious state around 3:30am on Saturday night and admitted to Kushtia Medical College Hospital. Superintendent of Police Aminul Islam visited the camp and the hospital on Sunday morning after the incident.

The police members undergoing treatment at the hospital are Sub-Inspector (SI) Moniruzzaman, Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) Shariful Islam, Constables Amirul Islam, Muktar Hossain, Mohammad Amin, Aminul Islam, Kamrul Islam, Nazrul Islam, Rezaul Islam and Monirul Islam. They are all stationed at Patikabari Police Camp.

According to district police and medical college hospital sources, at least 12 police members were at the camp on Saturday night. Among them, 10 ate dinner at various times. The food included plain rice, chicken and vegetables. After eating, they felt drowsy. At one point, they fell unconscious. As they did not respond even after being called, they were rescued around 3:30am and admitted to the Medicine Department of Kushtia Medical College Hospital.

Dr Rezaul Islam, head of Unit-3 of the Medicine Department, said the police members came to the hospital in an unconscious state. They are being treated with prescriptions. It is primarily believed that food poisoning or some other cause could have led to this. They are currently out of danger. For now, they have been kept admitted to the hospital.

After the incident, Superintendent of Police Aminul Islam went to Patikabari Police Camp on Sunday morning. A police team, including the Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Islamic University Police Station, also went there and began an investigation.

A woman named Saleha Khatun, a resident of the Patikabari area, has been cooking at the police camp for the past two years. Police have taken her into custody for questioning.

Kushtia District Police spokesperson Additional Superintendent of Police (Crime and Ops) Faisal Mahmud said an investigation is underway into what caused the incident. The police members are currently well.