News Desk |
In an appalling incident, two children of age 5 and one-and-a-half died of food poisoning after they dined out at a posh restaurant in Zamzama Karachi on Sunday evening.
According to the details, the family had dined out at a high-end restaurant Arizona Grill in Defense Housing Authority’s Zamzama area and afterward ate candy from a shop outside Chunky Monkey amusement park located in Phase IV, DHA.
Sindh Food Authority Director Operations Ibrar Shaikh visited the restaurant and sealed it after taking food samples from the eatery.
Soon after eating out, the family fell sick and was shifted to a hospital where both kids died while mother survived but is still under treatment as medics say her condition is stable.
The police sealed the eatery, took samples of food for forensic analysis and also gained the footage from CCTV installed at the restaurant. The police have collected food sample from the refrigerator present in the home of the affected family too, as the children consumed milk when they got back home from the restaurant.
Police investigators took samples of the children’s blood, urine, and of vomit from dustbin and clothes. The Sindh Police has constituted an investigation team headed by SSP South Pir Mohammed Shah to probe into the matter. SSP Tariq Dharejo and ASP Clifton are also included in the team, which would present the investigation report in 72 hours.
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According to Medico-legal Officer Jinnah Hospital, Dr. Shiraz the post-mortem of the minors suggests the death was caused by food poisoning.
Sindh Government takes Notice
Authorities sprang into action as Sindh Governor Imran Ismail and Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah took notice of the incident and sought a report from the city commissioner. Sindh Food Authority Director Operations Ibrar Shaikh visited the restaurant and sealed it after taking food samples from the eatery.
Rasheed Channa, spokesperson of chief minister said that the CM had directed the food authority to start inspection of all restaurants in the city. It is, however, shameful to see that the two kids had to die to wake the Sindh Food authority (SFA) from the slumber and to start the crackdown on city restaurants.
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The incident depicts the ignorance of the department as the restaurant involved was not any ordinary eatery; how could the registered restaurant (the one supposed to have no objection certificate from SFA) do such practice? And if the eatery was not registered, who else is to be blamed but SFA?