Two people died and two others were hospitalised in Telangana late on Wednesday night after a family of four ate a birthday cake, which is suspected to have been poisoned. The incident took place at Ainapur village in Siddipet district.
The police said that the man, identified as E Ravi and his son died, while his wife and daughter who also consumed the cake, are undergoing treatment.
Officials investigating the deaths said that a property dispute between Ravi and his cousin may have caused the deaths, as it was the cousin, identified as Srinivas, who sent the cake for the birthday of Ravi's son.
As Ravi and his family ate the cake, they began vomiting and their neighbours rushed them to a local hospital, before shifting them to the district headquarters of Siddipet. However, Ravi and his son died, while undergoing treatment.
According to media reports, the police have detained Srinivas, who claimed that he was innocent.
“There was smell of pesticide on the cake and villagers, who shifted the victims to the hospital, also said that they could smell pesticide from the victims. Till now, we are not sure if someone tried to kill the family by lacing the cake with pesticide or it is a suicide case,” Cherial Circle Inspector L Raghu was quoted as saying.
A case has been registered under Section 174 of the CrPC which deals with suspicious death. The samples of the cake have been sent to a lab to ascertain what it was laced with, and whether that may have caused the death.
"We are investigating how they died and what might have killed them. Once we have more clarity, we will reveal further details," another investigating official told reporters.