The body of Diwakar, a farmer from Hunsur taluk, who died while spraying pesticide (Lannate 40 SP) at his field in Modooru, around 10 km from Hunsur town, was exhumed and post-mortem was conducted.
A two-member team from the Department of Forensic Science, Mysore Medical College and Research Institute (MMCRI), exhumed the body in the presence of Revenue Department officials, police officers and family members of the deceased.
Hundreds of villagers had gathered to watch the proceedings. Police personnel were deployed. The family members and relatives had earlier refused to hand over the body for post-mortem, but were persuaded by the officials to cooperate to ascertain the exact cause of death.
The Joint Director of Agriculture, Mysuru, had said that a few other farmers in the taluk had also fallen sick while spraying the same insecticide, but they recovered.
Temporary banDeputy Commissioner C. Shikha, taking serious note of the farmer’s death and also reports of other farmers falling ill, has imposed a temporary ban on the sale of the insecticide and asked the Agriculture Department to send samples for laboratory tests. The samples were sent to the Insecticide Control Laboratory in Mandya and the report is awaited.
The district administration has cautioned dealers against selling the insecticide until further instructions.
