Three minors died and at least 80 have been hospitalised owing to suspected food poisoning during a ''vastu shanti'' ceremony at Mhahad village near Khopoli city in Raigad district of Maharashtra.
Officials said the incident occurred on Monday around 9 p.m., when around 500 villagers were invited by Subhash Mane for dinner at a local temple on the occasion of him building a new house.
According to the Khalapur police, some children started complaining of nausea and vomiting after the first round of dinner was served. Later, after some adults too started complaining of the same. They were all taken to Parvati Hospital in Khopoli.
When the number of patients started increasing, the patients were shifted to Gandhi hospital in Panvel, MGM hospital in Kamothe and DY Patil in Nerul.
The deceased children have been identified as Kalyani Shingude (7), Rishikesh Shinde (12) and Pragati Shinde (13), confirmed Khalapur police officials, adding that Accidental Death Reports had been registered and inquiries were under way.