At least 10 people in southern India have died of suspected food poisoning after they ate contaminated food at an opening ceremony at a new Hindu temple.
Dozens of people were taken to hospital following the event in the Chamarajnagar district of Karnataka state on Friday, police said.
Local media reported anywhere between 10 and 12 people had died, with some reporting a 15-year-old girl was among the victims.
Samples were collected for chemical analysis of food that was served to devotees following the ceremony.
Police said worshipers had fallen ill several hours after they had consumed the “prasad”, a food offering in Hinduism and Sikhism normally eaten following rituals.
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.
HD Kumaraswamy, chief minister of Karnataka state, visited worshippers who had been taken ill in hospital on Friday.
He said in a statement on Twitter 500,000 rupees (£5,500) would be paid to the families of each of the deceased as compensation.
“[The chief minister] has announced that the government will bear the medical expenses of all those affected in the food poisoning incident,” the statement said.
“He also ordered the director general of police to investigate further and report the matter immediately.”
In 2013, 22 children died in a school in India’s eastern state of Bihar after eating food that had become tainted with a pesticide after being stored in a cooking oil container.
Additional reporting by AP
