Taunted for skin colour, woman poisons food; five died, 120 fell sick
RAIGAD: She hated it when she was mocked for her dark complexion. Jokes about her cooking also irritated her. And when she was fed up with her relatives' constant taunts, she decided to take action. The 28-year-old allegedly poisoned food at her relative's house-warming party in Maharashtra's Raigad district on Monday. Five people died, including four children, and 120 guests fell sick after consuming the food, police said.
Pragya Survase, a housewife, allegedly mixed insecticide in the food and served it to the guests at her relative Subhash Mane's home in Mahad village. Even children weren't spared.
Soon after the dinner, they complained of stomach aches and began to vomit incessantly. They were rushed to different hospitals one after the other. The police in Mahad, about 75 km from Mumbai, was informed who found out that all of them had eaten at the same event. The food sample sent for analysis confirmed the presence of insecticide, the police said.
They began investigation and found insecticide near the relative's house. The police spoke to the guests and Ms Survase's answers drew their suspicion. She was further interrogated after which she confessed to poisoning the food to avenge humiliation.
She was arrested and a case of murder, attempt to murder and other offences was filed against her.
Ms Survase, who got married two years ago, was often criticised for her dark complexion and lack of cooking skills, police said. She held a grudge against her family and relatives and eventually decided to kill them all, police said.
When she was invited to a relative's house-warming party, she sensed an opportunity. She showed up at the event, poisoned the food and helped serve it.
Four children between the ages of seven to 13 and a 53-year-old man died of food poisoning, an officer said.
"She has confessed to the crime citing marital, family disputes. Further investigations are on," said Raigad Superintendent of Police Anil Paraskar told news agency ANI.
Five days later, several victims are still undergoing treatment at the hospital while others have been discharged.
courtesy : ndtv.com
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AIITA welcomes Karnataka’s ban on obscene songs in school events
Bhatkal: The Karnataka unit of the All India Ideal Teachers Association (AIITA) has welcomed the Karnataka government’s decision to strictly ban school children from dancing to obscene songs during educational and cultural programmes in government, aided, and private schools across the state.
AIITA Karnataka State President M. R. Manvi congratulated the government for taking what he termed an important step to preserve the sanctity of education.
“Such decisions to safeguard the dignity of school children and uphold the values of education are the need of the hour. This rule should not be limited to government schools alone but must be strictly implemented in all private educational institutions as well,” he said.
He further urged the government to address other concerns within school programmes.
“The government should not only prohibit obscene dances in the name of school anniversaries, but also ensure that plays and dialogues that incite religious hatred are avoided. Schools should be centres of harmony, not platforms for spreading hatred,” he added.
According to a recent circular issued by the Department of School Education and Literacy, obscene dances are adversely affecting the mental health and moral values of students.
In this regard, schools have been advised to use songs that promote nationalism, positive thinking, the greatness of Kannada culture, and value-based traditions instead of inappropriate content during programmes.
The circular also emphasises that students should be dressed in decent attire.
AIITA also backed the department’s warning that disciplinary action would be taken against head teachers if such guidelines are violated. The association has further demanded that district Deputy Directors of Public Instruction strictly monitor the implementation of these rules.
