India, Jan. 13 -- A panel of doctors from a government medical college has attributed at least 15 deaths in Madhya Pradesh's Indore to the recent outbreak of diarrhoea triggered by contaminated drinking water in the Bhagirathpura area, a senior official confirmed on Tuesday.

While the state health department has confirmed six deaths so far due to consumption of contaminated drinking water in Bhagirathpura, residents have claimed the toll to be much higher. To be sure, the state administration has distributed compensation of Rs.2 lakh each to 18 affected families, saying it wants to "help" those who have lost their dear ones.

Amid conflicting claims over the toll, a team of five doctors from Mahatma Gandhi Medical College (MGM), Indore s...