From April 20 to May 8, 2016, at least 33 people, including five children, died in District Layyah,

Punjab Pakistan Punjab (; , ) is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in central-eastern region of the country, Punjab is the second-largest province of Pakistan by land area and the largest province by population. It shares land borders with the ...

after eating a purposely poisoned

laddu ''Laddu'' or ''laddoo'' (; ms, kuih laddu; id, kue laddu) is a spherical sweet originating from India and spread through the Indian subcontinent and the Malay world. Laddus are primarily made from flour, fat (ghee/butter/oil) and sugar or ...

, a baked confection. Testing of the confectioneries revealed they were laced with the highly toxic

insecticide Insecticides are substances used to kill insects. They include ovicides and larvicides used against insect eggs and larvae, respectively. Insecticides are used in agriculture, medicine, industry and by consumers. Insecticides are claimed to b ...

chlorfenapyr Chlorfenapyr is a pesticide, and specifically a pro-insecticide (meaning it is metabolized into an active insecticide after entering the host), derived from a class of microbially produced compounds known as halogenated pyrroles. History and App ...

. A sweet shop owner, Khalid Mahmood, confessed to mixing the pesticide into the sweets after an argument with his brother and co-owner.

Causes

A pesticide shop, close by the bakery where the sweets were bought, was being renovated, and the owner had left his products at the bakery for safekeeping. Mahmood may have used a small packet in the sweet mixture. A man bought 5 kg of

for the celebration of a newborn on 17 April. At least 50 people consumed the sweets and ten of them died the same day. On 25 April, the death toll rose to 23 with 52 people still being treated at various hospitals. On 1 May the death toll rose to 33 with 13 people in hospital. The baby lost his father, six of his uncles and one aunt.

Aftermath

Two shop owners, and one worker, were initially arrested. Two weeks later the police announced that Mahmood had confessed. The Prime Minister,

Nawaz Sharif Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif (Urdu, Punjabi language, Punjabi: ; born 25 December 1949) is a Pakistani businessman and politician who has served as the Prime Minister of Pakistan for three non-consecutive terms. He is the longest-serving prime ...

, stated that the incident would be thoroughly investigated, and ordered the police to find and take action against the responsible people. The Chief Minister of Punjab,

Shehbaz Sharif Mian Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif (Urdu, Punjabi: , ; born 23 September 1951) is a Pakistani politician and businessman who is currently serving as the 23rd Prime Minister of Pakistan, in office since 11 April 2022. He is the current president of ...

, visited

Layyah Layyah ( Saraiki and ur, ), previously spelled as Leiah, is a city in the Pakistan.

References

{{Consumer Food Safety Deaths from food poisoning 2016 disasters in Pakistan 2016 health disasters 2016 crimes in Pakistan Food safety scandals Health disasters in Pakistan Mass poisoning Mass murder in 2016

Causes

Aftermath

See also

References