22-year-old solutions engineer joined colleagues on eating most in least time, died after food pipe got choked

An innocuous bet on who could eat more pastries turned fatal for a young engineer working with a communications company operating out of Gurgaon.

The incident occurred on Wednesday evening after the victim, Saurav Sabharwal, 22, joined the party in his office after work. According to Sabharwal’s family, he took up the bet with some of his colleagues to eat the most pastries in the shortest possible time.

But the bet turned fatal as Sabharwal choked on his third or fourth pastry, witnesses have told the police. He was declared dead on arrival at Max Hospital in Gurgaon.

“Sabharwal’s food pipe got choked as he ate too many pastries too fast,” Dr Sushum Sharma of Max Hospital said. “He must have had difficulty in breathing — he died on way to the hospital.”

Sabharwal, who lived in East Delhi’s Patparganj, was a solutions engineer with Nokia Siemens in Gurgaon’s Udyog Vihar, Phase III.

His father R K Sabharwal, an employee of Punjab National Bank in the Capital, accused the company’s seniors for letting their young colleagues take up such a bet.

The police recorded statements of the family and the company late Wednesday evening.

“We might register a case against the company’s officials for allowing such an irresponsible bet inside their premises,” a senior police official said. “The family of the deceased has demanded action against the company’s officials.”

Company officials couldn’t be reached for comments.