NEW DELHI: Two families from Kushinagar in Uttar Pradesh woke up to a nightmare when they found them dead after eating toffees allegedly found at the door of their house along with some money.
According to reports, the families belong to a Scheduled Tribe (ST) community.
The deceased children were identified as three siblings Manjana (5), Sweety (3) and Samar (2). Five-year-old Arun who lived nearby is the fourth deceased, they said.
According to villagers, Mukhia Devi, a resident of Dilipnagar village, discovered a plastic bag containing five toffees and some coins, while sweeping her house in the morning hours.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has expressed his condolences on the incident and ordered a probe into the matter and directed officials to provide assistance to the grieving families.
"Ms Devi offered the toffees to her three grandchildren and another child from the neighbourhood, Additional District Magistrate (ADM) of Kushinagar, Varun Kumar Pandey said.
The children went unconscious after consuming the alleged poisonous toffees and were rushed to the district hospital where doctors declared them brought dead, the ADM said.
The remaining lone toffee has been preserved for forensic examination and a probe is underway, he added.
Meanhwhile, the Superintendent of Police in Kushinagar said that it is being suspected that there is an angle of witchcraft in the case.
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