25 students fall ill after late-night picnic before Madhyamik results, 9 critical

Twenty-five students fell ill due to suspected food poisoning after consuming food during a late-night picnic in Devgram, under Baroja police station in Murshidabad district. The incident took place on Thursday night, ahead of the Madhyamik examination results. The students had gathered to celebrate and reportedly ate dal puri and curry around 1 a.m.

By early Friday morning, several students began showing symptoms of illness. Local sources confirmed that an initial attempt was made to treat them through a village doctor. As the situation worsened, nine students were shifted to Kandi Sub-Divisional Hospital by 5 a.m. for advanced medical care. The remaining 16 students are being treated at home under observation. A doctor at the hospital stated, “It is initially suspected that a common food item consumed by the group may have caused food poisoning.”

Mithun Ghosh, a local resident, said the students had organised the picnic themselves to celebrate the upcoming Madhyamik results. Nitai Pal, father of one of the affected students, confirmed his son participated in the picnic and fell ill after the meal. No formal probe has been initiated yet, and no details have been provided regarding the exact source of the contaminated food.