2 held for poisoning temple ‘prasad’ that killed 12; dispute between 2 groups blamed

Agencies
December 15, 2018

Bengaluru, Dec 15: Two people were on Saturday arrested for allegedly poisoning the prasad served at a temple at Sulavadi village in Chamarajnagar district of Karnataka on Friday, causing the deaths of at least 12 people, including two children.

District in-charge minister Puttaranga Shetty, confirming the arrests, said a dispute between two groups may be the reason for the poisoning. "Whoever may be the culprit, action will be taken against them. Police are investigating the case and have already arrested two people. There was some dispute between 2 groups. I think something has happened," he told news agency.

The minister had visited a hospital, where some of those taken ill after eating the prasad were taken. Over 90 people were hospitalised after they consumed the religious food offering served at the Kichu Maranda temple, which is nearly 160km away from Bengaluru.

Shetty added that 47 patients are being shifted to Care Hospital, 17 are in JSS Hospital and others are admitted in different Mysuru hospitals. "Around 91 patients have been shifted from Chamarajnagar to Mysuru," he added.

Many birds were also found dead, reportedly after they ate the prasad. The police are looking for five more suspects, news agency reported.

Expressing grief over the incident, Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy has announced a relief of Rs five lakh to the next to the kin of the deceased. Kumaraswamy flew to Chamarajnagar by special plane from Belagavi.

He said he has directed the authorities to make all arrangements for those affected and that government would bear the medical expenses. "In view of the shortage of ambulances in Chamarajanagar district, 32 ambulances have been rushed from Mysuru," the chief minister said.

According to police, the foundation laying ceremony of Maramma temple was organised Friday morning and prasad was distributed after the function. Most of those who attended the event followed the 'Om Shakti' tradition.

After consuming the prasad, people started vomiting and began writhing with stomach pain, police said. Commotion prevailed as people hurried to nearby hospitals for treatment.

Police, as also district authorities, rushed to the spot to provide medical aid. The affected people said they got the smell of kerosene oil in the prasad, but ignored it.

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News Network
March 27,2024

DKSiddu.jpg

Gokarna (Uttara Kannada): Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Wednesday said the Congress will decide about making him the Chief Minister in future, bringing to the fore again the issue of leadership change.

There was stiff competition between Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar for the Chief Minister's post after the Assembly election results in May last year, and the Congress had managed to convince the latter and made him the Deputy Chief Minister.

There were some reports at the time that a compromise had been reached based on a "rotational Chief Minister formula," according to which Shivakumar will become CM after two-and-half years but they have not been officially confirmed by the party.

During a temple visit here, a priest prayed that God's blessings may be showered on Shivakumar, and he became the Chief Minister.

Speaking to reporters here in Uttara Kannada district, Shivakumar, who has in the past made no secret of his ambition to become Chief Minister, amid speculations of change in guard mid-way of the Assembly term, responded to talk in some political circles about the leadership issue.

"What's wrong if a priest expresses his desire before God while praying? The priest has expressed his desire. Now Siddaramaiah is the Chief Minister, I'm working as Deputy Chief Minister under him, also as party's state President. People speak about it and desiring it (Shivakumar should become CM) is a different matter, it will be decided by our party," Shivakumar said.

"Now we are all working under the leadership of Siddaramaiah, and our desire is that the state should progress further under his leadership," he said.

"There will be people including supporters and priests, who pray for us, they will express their opinion. Can we stop them from doing it? At the temple it is between God and his disciple, they have expressed their feelings to God," Shivakumar added. 

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News Network
March 26,2024

Bengaluru: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has detained two suspects in connection with the Rameshwaram Cafe blast case in Bengaluru, sources confirmed on Tuesday.

The preliminary probe has revealed that the two suspects were in direct contact with the suspected bomber.

The NIA sleuths have picked up the suspects from an area in the state capital. However, a statement is yet to be made by the NIA in this regard.

Even as the investigating agencies, both NIA and state special wing CCB teams have launched an extensive search operation in various states, the bomber has remained elusive. The authorities had obtained the bomber’s images and videos from CCTV footage on March 1, soon after the incident.

Sources said that the sleuths were suspecting that the bomber had come from Tamil Nadu and was staying in a neighbouring state for two months before carrying out the blast.

The hair samples of the accused were gathered from the hat of the accused which he abandoned in Bengaluru near a religious place. The authorities have sent the samples for the DNA testing and were hoping for a breakthrough.

The Rameshwaram Cafe bomb blast took place on March 1 on the International Technology Park Limited (ITPL) road in the Brookfield area. Low intensity Improvised Explosive Device (IED) was used to carry out the blast and nine persons were injured in the incident.

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News Network
March 28,2024

Mangaluru, Mar 28: Dakshina Kannada deputy commissioner Mullai Muhilan MP has warned the individuals and political parties against the poll code violations during private events. 
 
“Private events such as marriages, birthdays, housewarming ceremonies, and other non-political programmes do not require any permission. However, one should ensure that there is no violation of the model code of conduct (MCC) at these functions. Permission is needed if the events are attended by politicians or candidates,” the DC said. 

He said that these gatherings will be under the surveillance of MCC teams, as there are chances of luring voters by campaigning and supplying food, said the DC. The district has 38,386 new voters, of which, 19,619 are men.

He said that the notification of election in Dakshina Kannada Lok Sabha constituency will be issued soon, and the filing of nominations will be held between 11 am and 3 pm till April 4. 

Only five persons, including the candidate, will be allowed to enter the returning officer’s chamber to submit the nominations. A facilitation centre will be opened at the DC’s office. 

The expenditure of the candidate will be counted from the day the candidate files the nomination.

The DC said that the district is not an expenditure-sensitive constituency. Assistant expenditure observers and expenditure observers will monitor the expenditure of the candidates. An expenditure book will be provided to the candidate to record expenditure incurred, he explained.

Further, he said that no election materials can be printed without the name and address of the publishers, and the number of copies printed. Separate permission should be availed for procession prior to the submission of nomination papers from the ARO office, through the single-window system.

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