Udupi: Over 1,000 people fall ill in two villages after drinking contaminated water
Udupi (Karnataka), Oct 4: More than one thousand residents at Uppunda in Udupi district fell ill after drinking contaminated water from a local overhead water tank, Health Department officials said on Friday.
"The condition of none of them is serious. Most of them have already recovered with proper medication from the local health centre," an official said.
The affected, mostly from Karki Kalli and Madikal wards of Uppunda Gram Panchayat in Byndoor taluk, had reported symptoms such as vomiting and diarrhea, they said.
"Many households witnessed multiple family members displaying similar symptoms, with several homes reporting three or more individuals being affected after drinking water from overhead water tank in Kasinadi," an official said.
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The Udupi district health officer Dr I P Gadadh said strains of "waterborne pathogen salmonella bacillary" were found in the water supplied to the two wards.
“We have sent a team to investigate this condition to both villages and the nearby villages that use the same water source, on September 30 and we had found the strains of this bacteria in 56 cases. Till today, we have found about 150 cases," he said.
According to Gram Panchayat members of the two wards, there was no water supply for three days before this incident and thereafter, the villages got muddy water and those who filtered or boiled it before drinking had no symptoms.
"We are investigating the cause for the supply of muddy water," Gadadh said.
Local residents blamed poor maintenance of the water tank for the contamination of water.
The water supply from the Kasinadi overhead tank has been suspended.
Villagers have demanded an investigation into the incident and immediate measures to address the issue, officials said.
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Kerala HC denies bail to police officer accused of 'raping' minor Dalit girl
Kochi (PTI): The Kerala High Court has denied bail to a police officer accused of raping a 14-year-old school girl belonging to Dalit community two years ago on Children's Day in a house in Thrissur district of the state.
Justice K Babu denied the relief to the officer, who was a Student Police Cadet (SPC) instructor in the victim's school, saying that he had committed a "heinous offence" and was "not entitled to be released on bail".
"While the court cannot ignore the fundamental right of the accused under Article 21 of the Constitution, it cannot shut its eyes totally to the atrocious nature of the offence committed.
"The material placed by the prosecution would reveal that the appellant (police officer) is alleged to have committed heinous offences. The prosecution has established a prima facie case," the High Court said.
The order came on the officer's plea challenging a session court's decision rejecting his bail application.
According to the prosecution, the victim is a member of Scheduled Caste and the accused seduced her by maintaining a relationship with her over the phone.
On November 14, 2022, he took her to a house near Kodungallur in Thrissur district by offering a birthday treat and raped her, the prosecution told the High Court.
He was arrested on September 26, 2024 and has been in judicial custody since then.
The officer has been booked for various offences, including rape, under the IPC, the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
