An 11-year-old boy died, allegedly of food poisoning on Wednesday, and 13 members of his family are in hospital after eating ‘prasada’ they prepared on the premises of the Veerabhadraswamy temple at Nidagal in Pavagada taluk.
Around 20 devotees, all members of the same family from Andhra Pradesh, had visited the temple to perform puja. They cooked food with the water in a small cement tank on Monday and ate it as ‘prasada’, said the police. They also drank the water.
“One of the family members, Nagamma, said they were told by the temple authorities that the water was safe for drinking and cooking,” said the police.
A day after they returned to their village Morabagilu in Anantapur district, they developed headache, stomach ache, diarrhoea and vomiting. Since a local doctor’s medicines didn’t help, they rushed to Sira taluk government hospital. However, 11-year-old Veerabhadra was declared brought dead by doctors.
‘Contaminated’
District Health Officer Dr. Chandrakala, who visited the hospital in Sira, said: “The water might have been contaminated. We have sent samples for testing.” Among the hospitalized are three women and five children. The deceased boy is the son of Thippeswamy and Kavitha, who are in Tumakuru government hospital.
Administrative medical officer at Sira taluk government hospital, Dr. Srinath told The Hindu , “Thippeswamy has been referred to the ICU. All are responding to the treatment,” he said.
