Accidental consumption of a wild plant that resembles edible fiddlehead fern varieties may have caused the death of an elderly man and the illness of seven others of the same family in Modha Draj village of Kotranka tehsil in Rajouri district on May 16, experts from Rajouri Government Medical College (GMC) said on Monday. The viscera and other forensic samples have been sent to the Forensic Science Laboratory, Jammu, as well as Chandigarh to determine the precise cause of death and confirm the presence of any toxic compounds or poisonous plant derivatives. According to the preliminary information gathered during the initial field assessment, the incident involved a localised cluster of family members who reportedly consumed a common meal during lunch on May 15. Several individuals developed acute gastrointestinal symptoms including nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain and diarrhoea, which were subsequently followed by neurological manifestations suggestive of possible exposure to a harmful wild plant substance, said GMC principal Dr AS Bhatia. The clinical presentation and epidemiological pattern raised suspicion of accidental ingestion of a toxic botanical agent. …