Health dept suspects temple ‘prasadam’ in food poisoning

Bengaluru: Ten people who had fallen ill due to suspected food poisoning in Bengaluru Rural district are now out of danger and in the process of recovering, according to the police.

A total of 135 people were admitted to different hospitals in Hoskote, located on the outskirts of the city, after consuming ‘prasadam’ at two temples. These individuals exhibited similar symptoms, primarily vomiting, raising concerns of food poisoning.

A 63-year-old woman identified as Siddagangamma, a resident of Kaveri Nagar in Hoskote, passed away at a hospital after complaining of stomach ache and vomiting.

As of Tuesday afternoon, officials confirmed that 25 people had been discharged from the hospital after making a complete recovery.

The District Health Officer of Bengaluru Rural lodged a complaint at the Hoskote police station, suspecting that the ‘prasadam’ distributed at Sri Lakshmi Venkateshwara and Kote Anjaneyaswamy temples in Hoskote as part of Vaikunta Ekadasi and Hanuma Jayanti celebrations over the weekend might have caused the suspected food poisoning.

The police have filed a case under IPC Section 328, which pertains to causing harm by means of poison.

A police officer involved in the investigation stressed that the health department must first identify the source of the outbreak before proceeding with their inquiry. Notably, not all individuals admitted to hospitals had visited either of the two temples.

“Nearly 40 per cent of the patients didn’t visit either of the temples, hence it would be premature to conclude that the sole reason behind the outbreak is “prasadam” they ate. We are waiting for the report from the health department,” the officer told DH. 

Contaminated water?

The officer also pointed out that while health department officials initially suspected ‘prasadam’ as the cause, there is a possibility that contaminated water may have triggered the outbreak. The department has collected stool and vomit samples, and the results are yet to come.

Speaking about the woman’s death, the police officer said she was brought to the hospital very late. 

He continued: “She died due to a cardiac arrest. She had blood pressure and suffered BP fluctuations in the hospital. The fluctuation might have been triggered by food poisoning but the death was due to a cardiac arrest.”