Mumbai: IAS officer collapses at SoBo restaurant, dies in hospital

Prashant Navghare

A 57-year-old IAS officer, Prashant Navghare, posted at the Public Work Department (PWD), collapsed at Trishna, a popular seafood restaurant in south Mumbai, where he had gone for dinner with two colleagues. He was rushed to Bombay Hospital but was declared dead. The MRA Marg police have registered an accidental death report and are investigating whether he died due to a food allergy or if there was any foul play. However, the hotel has said that he collapsed after ordering the food but before eating it.

According to the police, Navghare, who is posted as secretary at PWD, went out for dinner on Wednesday evening with his colleagues. They reached the restaurant at around 10 pm and ordered prawn koliwada and chicken chilli. "He came to the restaurant and was feeling a little uncomfortable. He asked one of his colleagues to bring him some tablets from the medical shop, but by the time his colleague returned, his condition had deteriorated, and he was rushed to the hospital in a taxi," a manager at Trishna told mid-day while on a phone call.

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He further said, "We want to clarify that he collapsed even before the order was served to them." According to the police, Navghare was brought to Bombay Hospital around 10.45 pm in a taxi, but he was declared dead and the local police were informed.

According to sources, prima facie it appears that the officer was having some allergic issues, and he asked his colleague to bring an anti-allergic tablet, Avil, after he started feeling uncomfortable. "As of now, we don't see anything suspicious; we have CCTV footage, and every aspect of the case is being thoroughly probed," a senior police officer said. The police are waiting for the post-mortem report to confirm the exact cause of the death.