10-year-old girl dies after eating birthday cake in Punjab, shop owner booked

Patiala: A 10-year-old girl died of suspected food poisoning after she ate cake on her birthday, following which a case was registered against the owner of the cake shop, police said on Sunday.

According to a police complaint lodged by the girl’s mother, the cake was ordered online on March 24 to celebrate her birthday.

Soon after eating the cake, all the family members, including the girl, started vomiting. The girl died the next morning, but the condition of other family members improved, the complaint stated.

Based on the complaint, a case under Indian Penal Code (IPC) Sections 273 (sale of noxious drink or food) and 304-A (causing death by negligence) has been registered against the shop owner, police said, adding that viscera samples have been sent to a laboratory to ascertain the cause of the death.

A health official said, “The girl’s family visited me on Thursday. I told them to lodge a formal complaint with the police and with the health department. Food teams were instructed to visit the house and collect samples of the cake.”

Civil Surgeon Raminder Kaur has ordered a probe into the matter.