Patna: A mysterious disease has so far claimed the lives of eight children and affected 24 others in Mushahri area of Dariapur village of Patna district since last week, official sources said on December 12.

All the affected children were admitted to hospitals, the sources said adding that the district administration sent a team of doctors to the village, 25 km from the state capital, this morning for proper medical check-up of the victims and ascertain the disease.

Deputy superintendent of police (DSP), Danapur, Mohammed Hussnain, visited the village along with the sub-divisional officer (SDO) and some doctors on the night of December 11.

The sources said people narrated to them that a mysterious disease had gripped the Mushahri Tola area having 40 houses of dalits since December 6. The people initially consulted local sorcerers to ward off the evil.

Hussnain said that the doctors, who accompanied him to the village, suspected that some water-borne disease gripped the locality as dirty water surrounded the area.

Death of dalit children came up for discussion in the Legislative Council on December 12 and on the plea of Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) Member of Legislative Council (MLC) Ram Kripal Yadav, the council chairman Jabir Hussain ordered the state government to give a comprehensive statement on the issue.

PTI