This could be straight out of a horror film. A red liquid oozing from the floor of kitchen, bathroom and verandah of a house in Maninagar on Wednesday morning made the blood of its 14 inhabitants run cold. The liquid was later identified as human blood by forensic officials.
It all started when 70-year-old Hiralal Jethalal Shah went for his bath. ‘‘After my bath, when I took my dhoti to give it to my daughter-in-law for washing, I saw some red stains on it. Then I saw that some red liquid was oozing out from the bathroom floor at two places. I moved out to the verandah only to find the same red liquid on the floor,’’ Hiralal said.
According to him, the same phenomenon was seen in the kitchen and he even got some of it on his leg.
Hiralal said the liquid was oozing from the tile joints and it lasted for 30 minutes from 8 am.
As this ‘‘bloody’’ news spread, a crowd started gathering outside Shah’s residence and police had to increase security to handle the situation. Said Deputy Commissioner of Police Jeetendra Rajgor, ‘‘Prima facie, it appears as if some one has sprayed some red liquid. There are no cracks or gaps on the floor from where this liquid could have come out.’’
Assistance Commissioner of Police, J Division, A M Muniya said, ‘‘We had a talk with the forensic science experts and they have confirmed that the liquid was human blood. However, we are waiting for a detailed report before going ahead with further investigations.’’
Senior Inspector, Maninagar, B Patel also confirmed that the liquid was blood. He said, ‘‘We are yet to ascertain as to from where the blood came from.’’ The sniffer dogs which were brought went up to the road adjacent to the house and stopped, he added.
Police officials also dug up parts of the floor from where the blood reportedly oozed out, but could not find anything unusual beneath the tiles or behind the walls.
Hiralal’s son Sanjay said, ‘‘After my father saw this, he called us and the entire family watched the red liquid coming out of the joints of the tiles. This continued for nearly half and hour and only in our house, that too only in the bathroom, kitchen and verandah. Even in our house, there was nothing unusual in the rooms on the other side of the verandah.’’
According to him, their family has been staying at the house for the past 35 years and such a thing had never happened earlier. Sanjay said no liquid oozed out of the floor after 8.30 am.
A P Jani, scientific officer of Forensic Science Laboratory who visited the house, said the FSL has tested samples of the liquid and found it to be blood.
He said it would be sent for further analysis. “We will have to do tests to find out the blood group, the RH factor and, if possible, even DNA test will be carried out,’’ Jani said.