A man, his wife and their three children were found dead at their home in Nagla Shri Padam village, in the Rabupura area of Greater Noida, on Saturday morning. Police said the deaths looked, at first sight, like a case of food poisoning, but stressed that the cause has not been confirmed.
Police identified the dead as Mahesh, 37, his wife Lalita, 35, and their children: two sons aged 11 and three, and a seven-year-old daughter.
What police know so far
According to Noida Police, Mahesh’s mother and neighbours said the family had eaten noodles on Friday night. Some local accounts also said they had tea before going to bed. All five were found dead the next morning.
Greater Noida DCP Shrawan Kumar Singh said the deaths came to light when one of the children did not get up in the morning for an exam. He called it a very tragic incident and said investigators were working through what the family had eaten.
They were resting after dinner on Friday night and appeared to have fallen asleep on their beds. When we arrived at the scene, we found their bodies in that position.
Rajeev Kumar Sisodiya, ACP (Greater Noida)
Forensic and food safety teams at the house
Once the Rabupura police station was alerted, local officers, senior officials, an ambulance and a team from the Food Safety Department went to the village. A police field unit and a forensic team searched the house and collected evidence. Food items, kitchen utensils and other material from the home were taken for testing.
After the inquest was completed, the bodies were taken to the post-mortem house in Sector 94 in Noida. As word of the deaths spread, local residents gathered outside the family’s home.
Why the reports matter
Police have been careful not to call the deaths anything more than suspected food poisoning, and no case had been registered by Saturday midday. Investigators say they are piecing together the family’s last hours, including when they last ate, whether anyone fell ill during the night, and how the bodies were discovered.
Officials said the post-mortem reports, along with the forensic findings and the food safety tests, would show what killed the family. Police said further legal action would depend on those results.
What happens next
Investigators are waiting for the post-mortem reports and the laboratory results on the food and utensil samples. The ACP said police were still looking into the circumstances and gathering details about the family, and police said any further legal action would follow from those findings.
