According to the Rajawadi Hospital staff, the 19 children (11 boys, 8 girls) were admitted to the hospital till Thursday afternoon. Dr Vinayak Shinde from Rajawadi Hospital said, “It seems to be a case of food poisoning and we have sent samples of the food to the forensic lab for analysis to confirm it. The students started feeling giddy and vomitted a few hours after consuming the food. They have been given medication and are stable as of now.”

As per some of the patients there was a farewell lunch on Wednesday afternoon ahead of the SSC exams. The school authorities had ordered food from a caterer by the name of Taj Caterers from Saki Naka. It is owned by one Ghulam Mohammad. The food ordered for the students, comprising chicken biryani, samosas, and gulab jamun had apparently been brought in the school on Wednesday morning and had been consumed by the students in the afternoon.

The school authorities had also ordered cake and pastries from a shop in Ghatkopar. Shabnam Rafique, a student from the school admitted to Rajawadi Hospital, said, “When we left the school we were alright but later we started feeling giddy and vomitted. I think the biryani might have been responsible for this as it was stinking.”

Shakeel Khalid, the parent of one of the students admitted to the hospital said, “We will take action against the caterer and also against the school principal. We are all very tense as their exams are approaching and we are very worried about it.”