Four children of a family died and eight other people were hospitalised after suspected food poisoning in a village in Haryana's Nuh district, police said on Tuesday.
The children, aged between 4 to 12 years, along with other family members had fallen ill after eating a vermicelli dish in Ranika Kultajpur village on the evening of July 15, they said.
The children died within two days during treatment while others are still hospitalised.
While attending an event in Ferozepur Jhirka here on Tuesday, Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar expressed grief over the incident and announced financial assistance of Rs 8 lakh for the family.
According to the doctors, food poisoning was suspected to be the cause behind the incident, Nuh Superintendent of Police Varun Singla said.
The entire family had fallen ill after eating the vermicelli dish, he said, adding that food samples had been sent for examination.
Villagers Hassan and Abid alleged that it is possible that some poisonous insect fell into the dish while it was being cooked.