Indore (Madhya Pradesh): A silent killer flowed through household taps, claiming multiple lives overnight as residents across several localities died after consuming contaminated drinking water. What began as a normal evening—families cooking dinner, feeding children and retiring to bed—ended in sudden illness, panic and death by morning.

They went to bed healthy but by morning, all of them were dead. Before going to bed, some cooked dinner, some laughed with family, some fed their children.. Across homes connected by the same water supply, contaminated drinking water did not spare any of them. Vomiting, diarrhoea and sudden collapse followed. Their families rushed them to the hospital, only to hear the same words at hospital doors: brought dead.

These are not isolated deaths. They are lives lost to a failure that flowed through household taps—claiming the elderly, the young, and even a five-month-old infant. Each name below is a reminder that this tragedy was sudden, brutal, and entirely preventable.

Uma Kori (31): A night her husband couldn’t save her

Sunday night was ordinary in Uma Kori’s home. She ate dinner, laughed, and went to sleep. By 3 am, she was vomiting uncontrollably. Soon, diarrhoea followed. Her husband Bihari sat beside her all night, wiping her face, hoping morning would bring relief. As dawn broke she was taken on a bike—her body limp, her eyes barely open to Aurobindo Hospital. For 7 km, Bihari held her with trembling hands through traffic. At the hospital, doctors said just two words: she’s gone. Uma never reached her 32nd birthday.

Manjula Waghde (74): Defeated cancer but lost to water

Manjula Waghde cooked dinner for her family Monday night. She washed utensils, locked the house, and slept. After midnight, pain woke her and she began vomiting. Her husband Digambar stayed awake, helpless, watching her strength fade. By morning, she couldn’t stand. At MY Hospital, doctors declared her dead. Just hours earlier, she was healthy. Five years ago, she defeated cancer. This time, she lost to water.

Seema Prajapat (50): Just five hours between life and death

At 4 am on Monday, Seema Prajapat started vomiting. By sunrise, she was too weak to speak. Her family rushed her towards the hospital, praying she would survive the journey. She didn’t. Five hours after the first symptom, Seema was dead. A healthy woman gone before the day even began.

Urmila Yadav (70): She fought, but water proved stronger

Urmila Yadav fell ill on Friday evening. She spent a day in ICU, her son Sanjay watching machines breathe for her. On Sunday morning, she stopped breathing. Her grandson just 11 months old is still fighting the same ‘poisoned’ water in another hospital. A grandmother gone, a baby struggling.

Tara Bai Kori & Gomti Rawat: Silent goodbyes

Tara Bai Kori was healthy and so was Gomti Rawat. Neither complained of illness until the water did the damage. Both fell sick suddenly. Both died quietly. No warning. No chance.

Nandlal (75): Medicines couldn’t save him

Nandlal had blood pressure issues but lived normally. When contaminated water made him sick, his body couldn’t cope. He suffered cardiac arrest in the hospital. Doctors tried CPR. Nothing worked.

Jeevan Lal Barede: Living next to the poison

Jeevan Lal lived near the overhead water tank. He drank the contaminated water and passed away. His family says they told everyone about the smell emanating from the water they were drinking, but no one listened. He died on December 28. Others in his family were hospitalised. The poison didn’t stop with him.

Avyan Sahu (5 Months): Too young to understand, too young to die

Avyan Sahu was only five months old. He didn’t drink water—but drank milk mixed with water. That was enough.

Avyan never learned to crawl. He never learned to speak and became the youngest victim of the contaminated water.