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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President Murmu rejects mercy plea of man convicted for rape, murder of 2-year-old in Maharashtra
New Delhi (PTI): President Droupadi Murmu has rejected the mercy petition of a man convicted of kidnapping, raping and killing a two-year-old girl in Maharashtra in 2012, officials said on Sunday.
This is the third mercy plea rejected by the President after assuming office on July 25, 2022.
The Supreme Court on October 3, 2019, affirmed the death sentence awarded to Ravi Ashok Ghumare, saying he had no control over his "carnal desires" and surpassed all natural, social and legal limits just to satiate his sexual hunger.
In its verdict, a three-judge bench comprising Justice Surya Kant (now chief justice of India), by a majority verdict of 2:1, said the man had "ruthlessly finished" a life which was yet to bloom and his act of committing unnatural offence with the two-year-old exhibits "a dirty and perverted mind, showcasing a horrifying tale of brutality".
Ghumare's mercy plea was rejected by the President on November 6, 2025, according to the status of the mercy petition disclosed by the Rashtrapati Bhavan.
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"Having said that, it may be seen that the victim was barely a two-year-old baby whom the appellant (Ravi) kidnapped and apparently kept on assaulting for over four to five hours till she breathed her last.
"The appellant, who had no control over his carnal desires, surpassed all natural, social and legal limits just to satiate his sexual hunger. He ruthlessly finished a life which was yet to bloom," Justice Surya Kant had said, while writing the verdict for himself and (now retired) Justice Rohinton Fali Nariman.
The appellant, instead of showing fatherly love, affection and protection to the child against the evils of society, made her the victim of lust, the majority verdict said.
"It’s a case where trust has been betrayed, and social values are impaired. The unnatural sex with a two-year-old toddler exhibits a dirty and perverted mind, showcasing a horrifying tale of brutality," the verdict said.
According to the prosecution, the incident took place on March 6, 2012, in Indiranagar locality of Maharashtra's Jalna city. Ghumare had lured the victim with a chocolate.
The trial court had convicted him and awarded the death penalty on September 16, 2015. His death sentence was upheld by the Bombay High Court in January 2016.
