Chintamani:  Two women died and 11 others, including two children, have been hospitalised after they allegedly consumed ‘kesari bath’ that had been distributed as ‘prasadam’ at a temple in Chintamani town in Chikkaballapura district on Friday night. This is the second incident in a little over a month where the consumption of temple offerings has taken a tragic turn. In Dec., 2018, 17 people died after they consumed ‘prasadam’ that had been deliberately poisoned at Kichuguth Sulwadi Maramma Temple in Hanur of Chamarajanagar.

“Our initial investigation, however, does not point to the use of poison or pesticide,” said the Police, who suspect that the ‘prasadam’ had been prepared using “expired ingredients.”

The Ganga Bhavani Devi Temple, popularly known as Gangamma Temple in Chintamani town, had held a puja on Friday from 6 pm to 9 pm. “There was a gathering of over 1,000 devotees,” said a senior Police officer. Among the people who attended it was the deceased woman, identified as Kavitha. Six of the victims were members of one family.

The ‘kesari bath’ was distributed to around 500 visitors. ‘Kesari bath’ was however not prepared in the Temple premises.

Kavitha had taken a large portion of the ‘prasadam’ to the village. “She shared it with her neighbours and another friend. However, soon after they ate it, they began throwing up and started experiencing abdominal pain and discomfort,” said the Police.

They were taken to hospitals in Chintamani and Kolar, but then Kavitha’s condition worsened. One of Kavitha’s neighbours, identified as Saraswathamma, also died.

Samples have been sent to the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) in Bengaluru, an officer said.

Minister G.T. Devegowda visited the house of the victims and handed over Rs.20,000 from his personal account.