Two women, who were battling for life after consuming ‘prasada’ at Kicchugatti Maramma Temple in Sulwadi village of Chamarajanagar district, died here on Sunday. With this, the number of deaths has gone up to 13.
Salamma and Maheshwari, both aged around 35 and natives of M.J. Doddi, breathed their last at a private hospital here. The condition of eight persons is said to be serious. At least 66 patients are being treated at eight private hospitals and 28 more in the State-run K.R. Hospital. Relatives continued to throng the hospitals to see the patients.
Minister for Health and Family Welfare Shivananda Patil, accompanied by Chamarajanagar district in-charge Minister Puttaranga Shetty, MP R. Dhruvanarayan, Hanur MLA R. Narendra, and Health Commissioner Pankaj Kumar Pandey visited K.R. Hospital and the private hospitals. Mr. Patil said his department had sent samples of the “poison-laced prasada” and other items to various agencies, including CFTRI and the FSL, for examination. “We are awaiting reports,” he said.
Two more suspects
Meanwhile, two more suspects have been detained for questioning. Superintendent of Police Dharmendra Singh Meena told The Hindu that four teams comprising 20 officers, led by the Kollegal Dy.SP, are investigating the case. “The information shared by the suspects is being cross-verified. All leads are being pursued but nothing concrete has emerged so far,” he said.
On the lack of public health infrastructure for handling the tragedy of this magnitude, Mr. Patil said the Minister for Medical Education will speak on this issue since K.R. Hospital comes under his department. “But I must say, there was no lapse on any part and doctors handled the crisis well. I’m told that K.R. Hospital has been allocated ₹37 crore out of the ₹120 crore for its improvement,” he said. To a question on the delay in his visit to the hospitals, a defensive Mr. Patil said the government responded quickly to the episode and made arrangements for the treatment with Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy himself rushing to the hospital a few hours after the tragedy.
He said Home Minister G. Parameshwara will make a statement at the legislature session in Belagavi in the coming week on the investigation into the incident.
Devotees ignored bad smell
R. Narendra, Hanur MLA, said the devotees ate the ‘prasada’ even though it had a pungent smell, unsuspecting it to be poisoned. Some people, however, threw it away and remained unaffected.