Puducherry District Collector served with toxic liquid in mineral water bottle by personal staff

PUDUCHERRY: A colourless  toxic liquid was served in a mineral water bottle to District Collector cum District Magistrate Purva Garg when she asked for water at her office, following which a complaint was lodged with the police on Thursday afternoon.

At around 1:45 pm on 6^th January, during an official meeting held in the chamber of the District Collector, the water bottle was served to the collector's cabin by the personal staff, A Suresh Raj, Special Officer, Revenue attached to the office of the District Collector in a complaint to the Station House officer, D.Nagar police station said.

It was found to be containing a toxic colourless liquid instead of water, Suresh Raj said in his complaint.

The one litre pet bottle came with a sticker “Swiss Fresh”.

The District Collector then held a meeting with the representative of political parties in the Collectorate on the same day.

The office of the District magistrate is a public dealing office and such an incident evokes suspicion with respect to the authority of the office, and also poses personal threat to the concerned officer, Suresh Raj said.  

The Lt. Governor has described the incident as “shocking”.

According to sources, the liquid in the water bottle is suspected to be hand sanitizer. The bottle was taken from the cupboard in which other grocery items are kept, like mineral water bottles, tea cups, tea leaves and such. 

 The District Collector got a strong scent from the liquid and alerted her staff, said the source. The police is set to send the bottle to the Public Health laboratory for testing.