LAHORE: Two children died and their parents were left in critical condition after the family ate leftover curry at their home in Harbanspura, in a suspected case of food poisoning that has drawn in police, forensic experts and the food department.
Police said the incident occurred in the Harbanspura police precincts, where a married couple and their two children ate a curry left over from the previous night’s meal. All four fell ill a short time later.
Rescue 1122 teams reached the house after being alerted and shifted the affected family members to hospital for emergency treatment. Both children died during treatment.
Officials said the deceased children have been identified as Qadeer and Asma. Their parents remain in critical condition and are receiving medical care.
A Crime Scene Unit and forensic experts reached the location after the incident was reported. The forensic team has begun collecting food samples and other evidence from the premises, and a team from the food department has also been summoned.
Forensic experts said an initial line of inquiry is that the food became toxic after a lizard fell into it — a preliminary suspicion, not a finding. Investigators stressed that the actual cause will only be established once forensic analysis and the wider investigation are complete.
Police have registered the matter and opened further investigation.
In Punjab, suspected food-poisoning deaths follow a defined evidentiary chain. Post-mortem examination and viscera analysis at a government forensic laboratory determine whether death resulted from bacterial contamination, chemical toxicity or another cause. Food samples lifted from the household are tested separately, and the Punjab Food Authority may examine any commercially purchased ingredient involved.
The distinction matters legally. A finding of accidental contamination can attract proceedings for causing death by negligence under Section 322 or Section 319 of the Pakistan Penal Code, while evidence of a deliberate act would recast the case as homicide. Investigators said no conclusion has been drawn on either track at this stage.
Food-borne illness rises sharply in Punjab during the post-monsoon transition, when daytime temperatures remain high enough for rapid bacterial growth but households have begun relaxing the storage precautions of peak summer. Reheating a curry that has stood at room temperature overnight does not reliably destroy heat-stable toxins already produced by bacteria such as Staphylococcus aureus or Bacillus cereus.
Public health specialists advise refrigerating cooked food within two hours, storing it in covered containers, and discarding any dish left uncovered overnight — particularly meat and gravy-based preparations, which are the most common vehicles for contamination in domestic cases reported in Lahore.
The Punjab Food Authority has expanded inspection and enforcement activity across the district over the past year, but domestic food-handling incidents fall outside the reach of commercial inspection and are typically identified only after someone falls ill.
The Lahore Times is not treating the lizard-contamination theory as established. It is an initial suspicion voiced by forensic personnel at the scene and has not been confirmed by laboratory analysis.
The condition of the parents, the forensic laboratory results and the outcome of the police inquiry will be reported as they are released.
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