118 diamond polishers fall ill at Surat factory: 'Someone mixed poison in ...'

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As many as 118 out of 120 diamond polishers working at a factory in Surat fell ill on Wednesday after drinking water from a tank located on the premises, police said.

All affected workers, working at Anabh Gems, located in the Kapodra area of Surat, were hospitalised at two different facilities in the city. A total of 104 workers were admitted to Kiran Hospital, where two, Jaydip Bariya and Ravi Prajapati, were shifted to the ICU due to irregular heartbeats. Fourteen others were being treated at Diamond Hospital. Except for the two in intensive care, the condition of the remaining workers is reported to be stable, The Times of India reported.

Upon investigation, company officials found an empty wrapper of celphos, a toxic fumigant commonly used for pest control in stored grains, near the factory’s water filtration plant. The presence of the wrapper raised suspicions of water contamination.

Police from the Kapodara station, along with officials from the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL), arrived at the scene and launched an investigation. The company is owned by Sunil Patel.

Dr Mehul Panchal, Medical Director of Kiran Hospital said, “More than 104 workers from the factory were brought in after ingesting water laced with Celphos. Of them, 102 are in the general ward, while two—identified as Ravi Prajapati (30) and Jaydeep Baraiya (23)—are in the ICU. Additional workers have been admitted to Diamond Hospital.”

Surat Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone 1), Alok Kumar, said, “"We received information that in Kapodra Patiya's millennium complex that someone had mixed celphos poison tablets in the water tanker. Luckily, the celpos is packed in two packets and the second was not torn. The owner of the shop sent all workers to the nearby hospital. No casualties have been reported yet. Investigation in the matter is underway."