The food items were brought for policemen providing security to jailed former minister Gupta, who was hospitalized on Tuesday afternoon at Himal Hospital, Gyaneshwor after complaining of blood pressure-related problems. Gupta has been serving a jail term at Dilli Bazar Jail since February last year, on charges of abduction.[break]
Police Inspector Khadga Bahadur Bhandari of Dilli Bazar Jail said, "Four policemen and Gupta´s son Dr Bhaskar Gupta vomited and fell unconscious after eating the food items brought from KFC." Of the five, two policemen were admitted to the ICU for treatment and the other three regained consciousness by Wednesday.
According to Dr Lochan Karki, who is looking after the case, the unconsciousness was due to an ´unknown poison´ in the food and an investigation is underway. "We have sent blood samples of the victims to NAST (National Academy of Science and Technology) for further investigation to determine the cause of unconsciousness," Dr Karki said. Doctors also informed that the two were out of danger and recovering gradually.
The two in the ICU have been identified as Liladhar Nepali and Radhe Shyam Barma, according to police. The cause of the unconsciousness is yet to be determined, said Inspector Bhandari.
The other two policemen, who regained consciousness after treatment, were identified as Head Constable Padam Nepali and Constable Tej Bahadur Kathayat. According to police, Dr Bhaskar Gupta ordered food from KFC after doctors at the hospital informed him the senior Gupta´s treatment would take some time.
Hospital sources said police deployed for Gupta´s security fell unconscious at midnight and were hospitalized soon after they complained of abdominal problems. Quoting eyewitnesses, Inspector Bhandari said, "All five had eaten the sandwiches and chowmein together, along with Coke." The cold drinks were apparently brought from some other place at around 10 PM. Soon after, all five felt uneasy, vomited and fell unconscious.
“Hopefully, the report of the sample tests will establish the cause of the unconsciousness and further action will be taken, if required,” said DSP Mukesh Kumar Singh, chief of Metropolitan Police Circle Office, Kamalpokhari.
Shift in-charge at KFC Durbarmarg, Kiran Koirala, said, “No one has complained so far about the food items we supplied since yesterday (Tuesday). We have not received any information related to the [unconsciousness] incident either.” Koirala was on duty Tuesday night also.
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