Oil samples taken from his mill in Modasa were found to be adulterated with argemone seed oil, with which the mustard oil that killed several people in Delhi recently was found adulterated. Sale of the Krishna brand of groundnut oil has been banned. This is the first case in which argemone seed oil has been found to be used as an adulterant for groundnut oil, which is widely consumed by Gujaratis.

According to Health Minister Ashok Bhatt all but one of the 13 cases reported so far were from the Sabarkantha district. One was from Godhra in the Panchmahals district. The patients were not serious, he said.

The health department is distributing pamphlets in the affected areas warning the people against use of argemone-infested edible oil and the symptoms of dropsy.

Meanwhile, the civil supplies department has seized around 8,955 kg of lady's finger seed oil from the Krishna Oil Mills. The health department has issued instruction in other districts to look out for Krishna brand oil and seize it wherever found.

Bhatt held an emergency meeting with the health department officials to take stock of the situation and asked the senior officials to take all preventive steps on an urgent basis.

Meanwhile, in Kheda district, from where some non-edible oil had been supplied to the prime suspect in the mustard oil adulteration case of Delhi, the collectorate has swung into action in Kheda district.

The flood control rooms set up for monsoon have now been asked to warn people against the dangers of consuming adulterated oil.

Kheda collector Bhagyesh Jha said that inquiries revealed that the unedible watermelon-seed oil supplied by Ambika Oil & Cake Industries of the district to Delhi had not been detected in the oil consumed by the dropsy victims from Sabarkantha.

After the collector's meeting with the district chief health officer, district supplies officer and additional district magistrate government doctors and mamlatdars have been asked to visit areas where mustard oil is consumed and check for symptoms of dropsy.

The food & drugs control administration (FDCA) has been asked to take samples of mustard oil from traders and check for adulteration with argemone seed oil.