NEW DEHLI – At least 11 people in southern India died Friday of suspected food poisoning after a ceremony to celebrate the construction of a new Hindu temple, police said.
Another 32 people were hospitalized after they ate at the ceremony in Chamarajnagar district of Karnataka state, south of the state capital of Bangalore, said police officer Mahadev, who uses one name. Eight of those hospitalized 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.
