12 die of suspected food poisoning

Eight of those who ate at a temple ceremony are in critical condition

At least 12 people in southern India died yesterday of suspected food poisoning after a ceremony to celebrate the construction of a new Hindu temple, police said.

Another 32 people were hospitalised after they ate at the ceremony in Chamarajnagar district of Karnataka state, south of the state capital of Bengaluru, said police officer Mahadev, who uses one name. Eight of those hospitalised were in critical condition, he said. Samples were collected for chemical analysis of food that was served to devotees following a temple foundation laying ceremony. They vomited, complained of severe stomach pain and were taken to nearby hospitals.

Police detained two members of the temple’s management for questioning, The Press Trust of India news agency reported.

In 2013, 22 children died in a school in India’ eastern state of Bihar after eating food tainted with a pesticide. It had been stored in a cooking oil container.

Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy, who rushed to state-run K.R. Hospital in Mysuru, announced Rs 5 lakh compensation to the kin of the deceased.

“The state government will bear the costs of those undergoing treatment in the hospitals,” a statement from the Chief Minister’s Office said.