At least 25 people, including some police personnel, fell ill after having lunch at an eatery located near the Kumarganj police station, South Dinajpur, on Friday.

Of them, 10 are being treated at the Balurghat district hospital, while others were treated at local hospitals and released.

Doctors suspect that the food served to them was toxic.

Sources said they had lunch at the eatery, run by a woman, near the police station. By afternoon, they began falling ill.

Srimanta Kumar Roy, an assistant sub-inspector of the police, was working after lunch. In the afternoon, he fell sick and was admitted to the rural hospital in Kumarganj. Soon, some others reached the hospital complaining of sickness.

Doctors examined them and based on their condition, referred 15 people to the district hospital in Balurghat.

Sources said the owner of the eatery has also fallen sick. “It seems something got mixed with the food, leading to the incident. All those who have fallen ill are complaining of uneasiness and some are making irrelevant comments as one makes while intoxicated,” said a doctor at the district hospital.

As the news spread, Ramprasad Chakladar, the inspector-in-charge, of Kumarganj police, visited the hospital to check on the policemen and others. “As of now, three policemen are under treatment,” he said.

The block administration has initiated a probe. “It has led to panic in Kumarganj and surrounding areas. We are talking to experts and doctors to find out what led to the contamination,” said Shribas Biswas, the BDO of Kumarganj.