Berhampur, Dec. 2: A man and his three sons today died in a suspected case of food poisoning, while his daughter is battling for life at the intensive care unit (ICU) of the MKCG Medical College and Hospital here.

The nine-member Padhi family is based in Pandara Sahi in Old Berhampur and owns a business of fast food, juice and fan coil winding. Eldest son Prasant and mother Sarojini survived as neither of them had food on Saturday night.

Sarojini, who till then had lost his three sons, was inconsolable since this morning. She said the five taken ill had eaten chakuli (a round, flat country cake) and green banana fry on Saturday night.

“My second son Pramod, 30, complained of stomach ache and vomiting on Sunday morning and we took him to the hospital. Later, my youngest son Pankaj, 22, also developed similar symptoms and was admitted soon after,” she said.

By midnight, her husband Bhuban, 65, second son Prasanna, 24, and daughter Banita, 21, had to be taken to the hospital for treatment.

“One after another, three of my sons died. None of them had been married,” Sarojini said, weeping at the casualty ward of the hospital.

MKCG Hospital sources said today Pramod died at 4.15am, while Pankaj passed away at 6.50am. Prasanna, who was referred to a Visakhapatnam hospital due to the absence of ventilators and ICU beds at MKCG, died on the way.

Inspector in-charge of Bada Bazaar police station Anil Kumar Mahanty said the Padhi house has been sealed.

“We have collected food samples from the house. We will send it for lab testing,” he said. Head of medicine department at MKCG Diptimoyee Tripathy said she suspected that food poisoning led to the deaths.

“We are investigating the cause of poisoning. The condition of Bhuban Padhi is serious as his blood sugar level has dipped very low,” Tripathy said. A few hours later Bhuban also passed away.

“I observe fast on Saturdays, while my mother wasn’t particularly hungry that night. So both of us did not eat,” said Prasant, who runs a fast food centre near Utkal Talkies. He, however, alleged negligence in treatment.

President of BJP Berhampur Town unit Ram Kumar Patra said: “No professor or assistant professors of medicine department attended to the patients. Though the situation was serious, the superintendent MKCG hospital did not form a special team of doctors to attend to them.”

Sub-collector Bijaya Kumar Das said the district administration would bear all medical expenses of the father-daughter duo.

Their neighbours said there was no dispute among the family members.

“Their two elder daughters are married. While Rita got married nine years ago, Anita’s wedding took place in February this year,” one of them said.