In Karnataka's state capital, as many as 103 children living at a state-run shelter home fell ill after eating dinner served to them on Sunday night. They were rushed to a nearby hospital where they were treated and later discharged after doctors confirmed that their condition was stable.
District health officer Prakash K told that one of the children claimed to have found a lizard in the food served at the home run by Karnataka women and child welfare department. He spat the food and began vomiting which prompted five other children to follow suit, added the officer. All of the children were then rushed to the Indira Gandhi Institute of Child Health where they were declared stable after receiving treatment. The children were put under observation but later cleared for discharge by doctors, said the district health officer.
Samples of the food served to the children along with Gastric juice and vomit samples have been collected and sent to a laboratory for testing, said Bengaluru deputy commissioner BM Vijayshankar who claimed that an inquiry into the matter has been initiated. He also said that those found reprehensible will be dealt with severely.
This development comes barely weeks after 16 people were poisoned to death at a temple in Karnataka's Chamrajnagar district. An investigation into the matter later revealed that the man responsible for the deaths induced poison in the prasad being served at the temple leading to the deaths of those who consumed it. The incident had sent shockwaves across the country.