Following the investigation into food suspected to be mixed with pesticide being served at the Kicchu Maramma Temple in Chamarajanagar’s Sulwadi village of Chamarajnagar district, the police have taken two more suspects into custody and also questioned two seers from MM Hills.
Including these two, nine persons have been taken into custody in connection with the case that saw fourteen persons killed in a case of suspected poisoning.
Speaking to
The Hindu, Chamarajanagar Superintendent of Police Dharmendra Kumar Meena confirmed that Immadi Vedabrahma Guruswamy and Immadi Mahadevaswamy, junior and senior seers respectively, of Salur Mutt in MM Hills were questioned about the incident. Mahadevaswamy is the temple president while Guruswamy attended the foundation stone laying function for the temple tower.
Mallibai (37) who was battling for her life at JSS Hospital in Mysuru breathed her last on Monday taking the death toll to 14. Mallibai and her husband decided to pay a visit to the temple as per their custom before leaving for Chennai. They had been working as labourers in various parts of Kerala until then. However, their customary visit turned fatal for the couple after Krishna passed away on the way to the hospital after consuming the food at the temple and Mallibai passed away on Monday. The couple is survived by three children. “On returning to their hut in Kotepode, both of them started vomiting. We rushed them to hospital. Now that both of them are dead, we don’t know what to do,” said Pushparani, the couple's neighbour in Kotepode speaking to Times of India.
