In Ahmedabad at Mehsana: Three people died after consuming “Bhang” and around 350 got illness. They all took raditional “ Bhang” Prasad on the occasion of Mahashivratri on Monday. The three men deceased include Vipoul Thakur;17 ,Natuji Thakur,14 and Mukesh Marwadi,35 from Budasan and Karanpur villages in Kadi,Mehsana district.

Budasan is an industrial village located about 40km from Ahmedabad. On Wednesday the situation in this district was very critical because the local school has been converted into a primary health centre for the treatment of patients.

Mehsana collector Lochen Sehra said, “10 teams of doctors were rushed to Budasan and Karanpur and the situation is under control.Bhang samples have been sent to the food and drug control department n Gandhinagar,"

Milan Desai, member of Budasan gram panchayat, said “A few hours later, people started falling ill," after the distribution of bhang to devotees.Three critical cases were shifted to Ahmedabad Civil Hospital while others were taken to health centres at Kadi and Nadasan and local private nursing homes.

Dr Tushar Soni, chief district health officer of Mehsana, said, "Prima facie it seems the milk in which bhang was prepared had got spoilt."

Dr U B Gandhi, Mehsana civil hospital superintendent, said, "Patients, under influence of bhang, may not have instantly become aware of their illness leading to some getting critically ill."

H G Koshia, food and drug commissioner of state, said the department has collected samples of bhang and milk from the temple. "Samples have been sent to Delhi. The report will take take two to three days."