Bangladesh security personnel fall prey to biryani

DHAKA: Sixty-four security personnel in Bangladesh, who were charged with cricket World Cup security, have been laid low by food poisoning, a top police official said on Tuesday.

The security men, some on duty at the main Sher-e-Bangla stadium and others at the teams’ hotel in downtown Dhaka, were taken ill after eating chicken biryani supplied by a local contractor.

“Around 80 per cent of them were admitted to hospital and are getting saline drips,” Mirpur police chief Qazi Wajed Ali told AFP.

“The contractor who supplied the food has been arrested.”

Ali added that reinforcements have been put in place and there was no threat to the players’ security.

Bangladesh had ramped up security to ‘state-level’ for the two quarter-finals to be held in Dhaka on Wednesday and Friday.

The West Indies take on Pakistan on Wednesday with Bangladeshi officials keen to avoid a repeat of the embarrassing March 4 incident when an angry mob pelted the West Indies team bus with stones.

The second quarter-final on Friday features South Africa against New Zealand.