A bet of Rs 1,000 among friends over who could eat the maximum number of momos cost a youth his life in Bihar.

Vipin Kumar Paswan, 23, slumped to the ground unconscious after eating 150 momos at a stall at Gyani Mor in Siwan district on Thursday.

His friends thought he was faking it to fool them but later realised the gravity of the situation and rushed him to a private hospital where he was declared brought dead.

A resident of Sihorwa village under Thave block in Gopalganj district, Vipin ran a mobile phone sales and repair shop at Gyani Mor under Barharia police station.

It was a usual day for Vipin till a couple of his friends called on him on Thursday. While chatting, they bet over who could eat the maximum number of momos and went to a nearby stall. Vipin gobbled up 150 momos and suddenly fell unconscious.

The body was sent to Gopalganj Sadar hospital for post-mortem on Friday after a jurisdictional dispute between Barharia and Thave police stations over the place of occurrence was settled.

“Vipin ate a large number of momos after accepting a challenge with his friends. His friends took him to a private hospital after he fell unwell. The doctors there declared him dead,” Thave station house officer (SHO) Shashi Ranjan Kumar told reporters.

Vipin’s family alleged that his friends poisoned him and later abandoned him near a hospital.

“Two friends of Vipin took him away from his shop on Thursday on the pretext of eating momos. They poisoned and killed him. They did not even inform us about the death. Some people saw the body lying on the footpath and informed us,” Vipin’s father Bishun Kumar Paswan told reporters.

Asked about the allegations, the Thave SHO said: “The police are waiting for the post-mortem report to know about the cause of death. We will investigate the matter from all angles.”