Kotdwara, Uttarakhand, Oct 20 : Twelve people died and 36 others are serious after consuming a wild boar in Uttarakhand's Pauri Garhwal district, prompting the state government to initiate a magisterial inquiry into the incident, officials said here.
The feast took place in Pinani village, the ancestral village of former chief minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank. A wild boar which was found dead at a field was brought for the feast.
Nearly 300 persons fell ill after consuming the meat, of them 12 died within a few hours, local residents said.
Chief Minister B C Khanduri who visited the victims at the Pauri district hospital ordered payment of Rs one lakh ex-gratia to the next of kin of those who died.
Khanduri also ordered shifting of critically ill people to Dehradun or Delhi for further treatment.
Khanduri said, the sort of virus which lead to the deaths has not been seen in Uttarakhand earlier.
