Later, they found out, the `fruit', ``which looked like dates and tasted like pista'', were in fact a poisonous, wild variety of castor seeds used as a purgative in ayurvedic medicine.

They were initially taken to a private doctor in the locality, but were referred to JJ Hospital. ``We rushed there in a tempo,'' says Zohra Mogammad Roshan. While the adults were discharged by night, the 15 children were kept in the hospital till Wednesday morning. Asked why they had eaten the fruit, she said ``it looked and tasted quite nice''.

However Shahadat Sheikh (67) was a little more fortunate. Having eaten a couple of pieces only, he too began vomiting like the others but felt better by evening.

Dilip Laad, senior inspector with the Kalachowkie police station, said of the 23 persons who were hospitalised, two were men, six were women and 15 were children. All of them had eaten more than three to four pieces of the `fruit'.

Police have also written to the Mumbai Port Trust authorities, on whose property the castor tree stands, urging them to erect a signboard in the area, warning passersby against eating the `fruit'.