Mystery shrouds the deaths of four members of an impoverished family in a village on the outskirts of Lucknow on Monday.
Pankaj (18) and his three sisters, aged between three and nine years, of Gosainganj village, about 20 km from Lucknow, died shortly after they consumed an omelette and jalebi. His mother and another sister, who tasted the items, had to be hospitalised, while a dog, which lapped up the leftover, also died.
While some see it as a case of poisoning, others wonder if it is the result of some kind of witchcraft, which is still rampant in rural India. The police do not rule out the possibility of suicide triggered by abject poverty.
What has left people and the police bewildered is the mysterious series of events that preceded the deaths.
According to the police, on Monday morning Pankaj picked up a polythene packet, which lay at his doorstep, after he was told about it by a neighbour. The packet contained two pieces of eggs, onions, garlics, and chillies and a paper packet containing jalebis.
Pankaj, a daily wager, prepared an omelette and, after eating a part of it, left the house looking for a job. Pankaj's sisters then shared the leftover omelette. But finding it bitter, they complained about it to their mother.
She told the police that when she tasted it, she found it repulsive and spat it. She and her fourth daughter took a little of the jalebi. And then she started feeling uncomfortable.
A little later a villager informed the family that Pankaj had collapsed. A few minutes after that his three sisters who had consumed the omelette also collapsed.
"It is really strange, and we suspect there is something more to it than meets the eye," Lucknow Senior Superintendent of Police Navneet Sikera said.
He told rediff.com, "While there is no doubt that the deaths occurred on account of consumption of a very strong poison, what is not explainable is that why should anyone want to finish a family that does not own an inch of land and was living in abject poverty."
He said even if it were to be presumed that it was the consequence of some witchcraft, 'I fail to understand how the culprit could ensure that so many members of the family actually consumed one single omelette'.
Sikera said, "Even though the possibility looks remote, we will also look into the possibility of the mother choosing to put an end to the lives of all her children as well that of her own by consuming poison. But that would still leave the question of how did she procured such a strong poison unanswered."
Meanwhile, the viscera of the dead have been sent for forensic investigation, while the egg peel and other leftover ingredients were sent for detailed study to the public analysts laboratory in Lucknow.