Mumbai: Till late evening on Sunday, 82 women inmates of Byculla women’s jail were still admitted to the state-run JJ Hospital, where they had been rushed on Friday after they complained of symptoms like abdominal pain, vomiting and giddiness. All of them were reported to be responding to treatment and are still being kept under observation.

Inspector General of Police (Prisons) Rajvardhan Sinha said, “On July 15, four male inmates of Byculla jail complained of stomach ache and uneasiness and were rushed to JJ Hospital. The medical evaluation revealed that one of them was suffering from Vibro Cholera and the rest were detected with gastroenteritis.”

Mr Sinha added, “Taking preventive measures , Doxycyclineb100 mg was distributed by the civic health department to prisoners and officials posted in prison and 81 out of the 312 women inmates were rushed to hospital.”

The doctors at JJ Hospital suspect that it is a case of food poisoning. Medical superintendent Dr Sanjay Surase said , “All the inmates complained of vomiting, nausea and loose motions. No one is serious and they have been kept under observation.”

JJ Hospital has turned two of its wards into ‘disaster wards.’ The inmates have been complaining of dehydration, nausea, diarrhoea and vomiting and doctors are in the process of ruling out cholera and other water-borne diseases. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) collected a sample of the breakfast, while water samples are being collected by the BMC.