The Chamarajanagar police have detained five persons in connection with the case.
Superintendent of Police Dharmendra Kumar Meena said three of them are temple administrators and two are other suspects.
He said the detained persons belong to the local village and added that there was no substance, as of now, in the speculation about poisoning being an act of vendetta. “There is nothing to substantiate the rumours that the poisoning was an act of vendetta by one group of people keen to wrest control over the temple administration from the other,” he said. “However, we are investigating all angles,” he said.
Forensic report
The authorities also expect the findings from the Regional Forensic Science Laboratory (RFSL) in Mysuru in a day or two. “We have sent the food samples, utensils and viscera of the deceased to the RFSL,” said Mr. Meena.
Doctors, who treated the patients, suspect the presence of organophosphorus used for pest control in large quantity in the ‘prasada’.
Chamarajanagar District Health Officer K.H. Prasad said: “We suspect a higher amount of poison was mixed in the food. Otherwise, an incident of this magnitude would not have happened.”
Meanwhile, former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah visited the patients at K.R. Hospital and some private hospitals here. He demanded a high-level probe into the incident.
