MEERUT, July 30 -- About 40 residents, mostly children, fell ill in Kanakpur Kalan village of Najibabad tehsil in Bijnor district on Tuesday night after allegedly consuming contaminated chaat from local vendors. The sudden outbreak of vomiting and diarrhoea triggered panic in the area, prompting a swift response from health and district authorities.

The incident began around 9 pm, when several villagers started experiencing stomach-related ailments. Within hours, multiple families reported children suffering from acute vomiting and diarrhoea, raising concerns of a food poisoning outbreak.

Health teams rushed to the spot and shifted around 40 people to the nearby Samipur Community Health Centre. Five critically ill children, identified a...