New Delhi: Smriti Irani Monday took charge as the Union Women and Child Development Minister. She was welcomed by senior officials of the ministry and Minister of State in the WCD Ministry Debashree Chaudhuri. Soon after assuming charge, Irani held a meeting with all senior officials of the ministry.

The Amethi MP has retained the charge of Textiles Ministry, a portfolio she held during the first term of the Narendra Modi government.

She had met her predecessor Maneka Gandhi on Saturday to discuss important issues in the ministry and the way forward in tackling them.

Irani emerged as a 'giant slayer' after defeating Congress president Rahul Gandhi in Uttar Pradesh's Amethi.

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Mumbai (PTI): The initial report submitted by the microbiology department of a Mumbai-based state-run hospital has said no "bacterial infection" was detected in the bodies of four family members, who died after consuming watermelon recently, officials said on Wednesday.

The Dokadia family, residents of Ghari Mohalla on Ismail Kurte Road, had hosted a get-together of relatives on the night of April 25. At around 1 am (on April 26), hours after the guests had left, Abdullah Dokadia (40), his wife Nasreen (35), and daughters Ayesha (16) and Zaineb (13) ate pieces of a watermelon.

They suffered severe bouts of vomiting and diarrhoea in the early hours of April 26 and were rushed to a local hospital before being referred to the government-run J J Hospital where all four died during treatment.

After the incident, Mumbai police, forensic experts and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) officials visited the house and had collected samples of every food item that constituted the family's last meal, including 'chicken pulav', watermelon, water, and other foodstuffs, and sent them to the Forensic Science Laboratory for analysis.

After the post-mortem of the deceased, their viscera was preserved for chemical analysis.

As the probe is underway, the microbiology department of the state-run J J Hospital has submitted its initial report to the police.

"As per the report, no bacterial infection has been detected so far in the bodies of the victims. No bacteria was found in their blood," the official said.

The exact cause of the death will be known once the forensic science lab submits its report, he said.

"The report will also clarify whether any food items consumed by the family members during the day contained anything poisonous," the official said.