Bengaluru: The Karnataka unit of the Students Islamic Organisation of India (SIO) has condemned the alleged attempt to poison children at a government primary school in Belagavi district, calling it a shocking act driven by communal hatred aimed at removing a Muslim headmaster from his post.

In a statement released on Sunday, SIO Karnataka expressed concern over the incident that occurred at the Government Lower Primary School in Hoolikatti village of Savadatti taluk. The organisation said the poisoning of the school’s water tank was a “heinous conspiracy” intended to harm children and malign the headmaster, Suleman Gorinayak, solely because of his religious identity.

According to the statement, Gorinayak has been serving at the school for the past 13 years and was allegedly targeted in a deliberate effort to get him transferred. “This shameful act of attempting to kill 41 innocent children just to remove a Muslim headmaster is a disgrace to civil society,” said the statement. It noted that 12 children reportedly fell ill after consuming the contaminated water.

SIO said the incident is a dangerous reflection of how hatred and intolerance have taken root in society. “The fact that communal hatred has stooped to a level where innocent children’s lives are put at risk is extremely worrying,” it stated.

The organisation welcomed the police action in arresting the accused but urged the Karnataka government to take the matter seriously and ensure that strict legal action is taken. SIO further demanded exemplary punishment for those responsible so that such acts are never repeated.

It also called for proper medical care for the affected children and justice for their families.

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New Delhi (PTI): The Delhi Police has arrested a 40-year-old proclaimed offender for allegedly cheating a woman of her gold ornaments and cash in northwest Delhi, officials said on Monday.

The arrest was made after the police tracked the movement of the accused's vehicle using a GPS device, they said.

The accused, identified as Rahul, was arrested from the Model Town area on Sunday. Police also recovered the car which was used in the commission of the crime.

According to the police, Rahul is a habitual criminal involved in nine cases, including robbery, snatching, theft, culpable homicide. He is also a proclaimed offender in seven different cases.

"He committed such offences to earn easy money," Additional Commissioner of Police (Northwest) Bhisham Singh said in a statement.

The incident took place on January 18 when a 55-year-old woman was travelling from her residence to Uttam Nagar. While she was waiting at the Haiderpur bus stand, the occupants of a car offered her a lift, claiming to be bank officials.

Once she boarded the vehicle, the accused persuaded her to hand over her gold ornaments and cash for "verification", stating they were also depositing their own money.

The woman handed over two gold rings, two ear tops and Rs 5,000 in cash. Shortly after, the accused asked her to alight quickly and handed her an envelope, claiming that bank officials had arrived.

Upon checking, the woman found the only papers in the envelop, while the accused fled with her belongings. The woman later approached the police and lodged a complaint.

Following the complaint, police analysed technical inputs and traced the car used in the crime. A GPS tracking device was installed in the vehicle to monitor its movement discreetly.

"Based on real-time location data generated through the GPS device, the accused was tracked and apprehended," the officer said.

During interrogation, Rahul confessed to his involvement in the case along with two others, identified as Manoj and Amit. Efforts are on to arrest the remaining suspects and recover the stolen items, the officer added.