1 dead, 9 taken ill after consuming 'prasad' in Chintamani temple
Bengaluru, Jan 26: A woman died and nine others, including two children, were hospitalised after they allegedly consumed 'prasadam' (offering) served outside a temple in Chikkaballapura district, about 100 km from here, police said Saturday.
Three women have been detained in this connection, they said.
Kavita (22) died, while nine others, including four of her family, were admitted to a hospital Friday after eating the offering.
Two unidentified women came to the Gangamma Devi temple in Chintamani Town where a grand celebration took place Friday night, and distributed Kesari Bhath (halwa) to the devotees.
After consuming it, people started complaining of stomach pain, police said, adding they were rushed to a private hospital in the town.
"The temple management is not involved as nobody had prepared any 'prasad' there. Two women had brought some 'prasad' and were distributing it," police said.
Efforts are on to trace the women who distributed the offering outside the temple, they said.
Last month, 17 people lost their lives and more than 100 were hospitalised in Chamarajanagar district of Karnataka after they consumed 'prasad' laced with poison at a temple.
A seer of Salur Math Pattada Immadi Mahadevaswamy and three others were arrested on charges of murder and attempt to murder for reportedly poisoning the temple offering.
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Mumbai family deaths: FDA finds no watermelon vendor in area to check for affected stock
Mumbai (PTI): The Food and Drug Administration team probing the cause of death of four members of a family in south Mumbai's JJ Marg area have not been able to zero in on any watermelon vendor in the vicinity to check if the fruit had a role to play in the ill-fated incident, an official said on Thursday.
The Dokadia family, residents of Ghari Mohalla on Ismail Kurte Road, had hosted a get-together of relatives on the night of April 25. At around 1 am, hours after the guests had left, Abdullah Dokadia (40), his wife Nasreen (35), and daughters Ayesha (16) and Zaineb (13) ate pieces of a watermelon.
They suffered severe bouts of vomiting and diarrhoea in the early hours of April 26 and were rushed to a local hospital before being referred to the government-run J J Hospital where all four died during treatment.
"The FDA team visited the house of Dokadia and collected samples of chicken pulao and watermelon pieces. After two days, the leftover chicken pulao had developed fungus growth. The team also tried to locate watermelon vendors to check for any affected lots," he said.
But no vendors were found in the area for the past two days, preventing the FDA team from getting samples, the official added.
The FDA has requested the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) to share the report on the food samples collected by them, he added.
A senior Mumbai police official said the force is waiting for FSL reports in the case, adding that questions on presence of sedatives etc in the fruit could be answered only then.
The statements of the kin of the deceased are being recorded to ascertain if it is a case of mass suicide, and it is being checked if the Dokadia family were in debt or distressed over some issue, the police official said.
