Indore water contamination: Official dismissed, two others suspended as death toll rises to 10; probe panel formed

An official was dismissed from service and two others suspended even as the death toll climbed to 10 in Indore city of Madhya Pradesh where more than 2,000 people have fallen ill after consuming contaminated water supplied by the municipal corporation, officials said on Wednesday (December 31, 2025).

The deceased include a six-month-old child, who passed away on Wednesday (December 31, 2025), and six women. More than 100 people from Indore’s Bhagirathpura area have been admitted to hospitals in the past one week after drinking water from a municipal supply line.

While the authorities are yet to release the official death toll, a senior officer in the district administration said that the figure has crossed 10.

In-charge sub-engineer Shubham Shrivastava of the Public Health Engineering (PHE) Department of the Indore Municipal Corporation (IMC) was terminated while zonal officer Shaligram Sitole and assistant engineer Yogesh Joshi were suspended on the instructions of Chief Minister Mohan Yadav.

“Till today, 7,992 houses were surveyed in which about 39,854 people were examined, out of which about 2,456 suspected patients were found, who were given first aid on the spot. Till today, 212 patients were admitted in hospitals, out of which 50 patients have been discharged. Currently, the number of patients admitted in hospitals is 162, and the number of patients admitted in ICU is 26,” a statement from the office of Chief Medical and Health Officer said.

A three-member committee has also been formed to investigate the tragedy in Bhagirathpura area. The panel is headed by IAS officer Navjeevan Panwar, and consists of superintendent engineer Pradeep Nigam and associate professor at the Mahatma Gandhi Memorial (MGM) Medical College Shailesh Rai. The panel will also investigate the delays in completing a tender issued in August for a fresh supply line in the area, a senior government official said.

Cabinet Minister and Indore-1 MLA Kailash Vijayvargiya termed the incident “unfortunate” and said the numbers of patients admitted to healthcare facilities were increasing constantly. “It was increasing yesterday [Tuesday] but has reduced today,” he said.

While Mr. Vijayvargiya remained deputed in the area, the Chief Minister also visited multiple hospitals to meet the patients.

IMC Commissioner Dileep Yadav told The Hindu that the three officials were responsible for clean water supply in the area but failed to detect the leakages in time.

“A main leakage from a toilet drainage over the main supply line has been repaired and the toilet has been dismantled. Various other leakages were also found and repaired. We will test the water supply tomorrow and check for any leakages and water quality. The supply will be resumed once everything is fine,” Mr. Yadav said.

He said that over 100 water tankers have been sent to the area for water needs of residents.

Meanwhile, the Madhya Pradesh High Court also issued notices to the State authorities and sought a status report on the matter by January 2.

Hearing two petitions, the High Court also directed for free-of-cost treatment of patients after a petitioner, a resident of Bhagirathpura, alleged that the private hospitals were refusing treatment without money.

The petitioner’s lawyer, advocate Abhinav Dhanodkar, said: “We have also requested the court to form a probe committee headed by a retired High Court judge to ensure such incidents are not repeated.”

When asked about delays in opening tenders for fresh supply line in the area, IMC Commissioner Mr. Yadav said the project was to be undertaken through the AMRUT (Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation) package and that funds were awaited to start the work.

Meanwhile, the State Congress party has formed a five-member fact-finding committee to probe the tragedy. The committee consists of former Ministers Sajjan Singh Verma and Jaivardhan Singh along with three MLAs, and it will submit a report to the party leadership by January 5.