11 Karnataka govt school kids hospitalised after drinking water laced with insecticide

Police suspect that some miscreants from the village mixed insecticide in the water tank to exact revenge on the school’s principal.
11 Karnataka govt school kids hospitalised after drinking water laced with insecticide
11 Karnataka govt school kids hospitalised after drinking water laced with insecticide
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Seven months after the harrowing insecticide poisoning of ‘prasad’ at a temple in Chamarajanagar that killed at least 15 people, a similar case has been reported in Karnataka’s Mandya. Eleven school children of a government primary school in Mandya district have been hospitalised, allegedly after consuming water laced with insecticide. 

Students of the government primary school in A Hulikere village, just 7 kilometres away from Mandya town, began vomiting and complaining of stomach ache on Monday afternoon after consuming water from the school's drinking water tank. 

The victims have been identified as Chandu, Darshan, Dhanush, Mayur, Nisha, Prajwal, Shivalinga, Somashekar, Tejas and Yeshwanth, all of whom are below the age of 15, Mandya SP Shiva Prakash Devaraju said.

"The children came into school on Monday morning as usual and during the mid-day meal, they consumed the water. Soon after that, they began vomiting and complaining of stomach pain," Shiva Prakash added. 

The teachers took the children to Kothathi Primary Health Centre, where they were diagnosed with insecticide poisoning. They were then rushed to Mandya Institute of Medical Sciences immediately, where they are currently undergoing treatment. "All the children are recovering now. It was very fortunate that the teachers acted quickly," an officer with the Mandya Rural Police Station, who is investigating the case, said. 

Police say that miscreants laced the drinking reverse osmosis water tank, containing 10 litres of water, with insecticide. Police now suspect that the miscreants wanted to exact revenge against the school's principal. 

"Over a week ago, the school principal and a few teachers had come to the police station and complained of miscreants usurping the school's play ground to hold gambling games. The police had warned the men, who are from the same village. We believe that the men poisoned the water to exact revenge. They were not allowed inside the school after the complaint was filed, and they did not have a new place to sit around, play cards and gamble. They would also get drunk in the school campus, which was not good for the children," the police official added. 

An FIR has been registered under section 304 (manslaughter), 506 (criminal intimidation) and 34 (acts done by several persons with a common intention) of the IPC at the Mandya Rural police station, and officials are investigating the case. Mandya SP Shiva Prakash said that the miscreants would be nabbed in a couple of days. 

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