Bengaluru: Pest control goes awry; girl dies, parents disoriented

BENGALURU: A house fumigated with insecticides turned out to be a gas chamber for a six-year-old girl, who developed complications within a couple of hours of entering it on Monday morning, and died in the hospital. Her parents are yet to regain full consciousness but are out of danger, said police.
Vinod Kumar, an MBA graduate working for a corporate firm in the city, his wife Nisha and daughter Ahaana returned from Kerala around 5.30am.
The family had left for Kerala on July 28 to enable the landlord fumigate their rented house on Maramma Temple Street in Vasanth Nagar, which was full of bugs and cockroaches.
According to police sources, the trio took a nap before waking up for coffee at 7.30am. A short while later, the child reportedly complained of itchiness in her throat and irritation on her body. Soon after the parents also began experiencing the same symptoms. The family began vomiting, in turns, and were rushed to the closest hospital around 11.30 am.
By afternoon the child breathed her last. Her postmortem is still pending.
"The parents are still disoriented. The child's father has somewhat understood the situation and the need for a postmortem but the mother is yet to find her ground," the doctor incharge of their case told TOI.
Ahaana's maternal aunt reported the incident to the High Grounds police station where an FIR has been lodged under IPC sections 304A and 337 against the landlord. Both these sections pertain to causing death or harm by negligence.
Vinod Kumar had reportedly complained to his landlord about the house being infested with bugs and cockroaches. The owner agreed to spray insecticide to get rid of the roaches. The family left for Kerala on July 28 evening.
Landlord in custody, but not arrested yet
The landlord is said to have used a chemical available in stores and online for Rs 100 for a 100 ml bottle. It is generally used against bollworms, caterpillars, leafminers, and similar insects for cotton, paddy, oilseeds or other plantation crops.
Police are investigating the case to find if the alleged negligence was wilful or not and whether critical information regarding how many days they were to stay away from the fumigated area was callously withheld or miscommunicated, or whether there was a lapse in decision-making by the parents due to which they returned early and accidentally poisoned themselves.
The landlord is in police custody but has not been arrested yet as they are awaiting the forensic and postmortem report of Ahaana. The doctors too are yet to complete their diagnosis of the parents' condition.
"The insecticide used consists of a chemical called quinalphos. That makes up 25% of the liquid with 75% being other ingredients. There are guidelines about how to use it and it is a legally permitted chemical and safe to be used in houses. However, to know what caused the death and the reactions, one must know the dosage used. There are first aid rules for using this chemical too," an insecticide consultant said.
Meanwhile, police too are awaiting the postmortem report to ascertain the cause of death.