Four accused have been arrested, including Mahadeshwara Hill Saluru Mutt seer Pattada Immadi Mahadevaswamy, in connection with the food poisoning incident that occurred at a temple in Chamarajanagar, the Karnataka Police said on Wednesday.
Addressing a press conference, South zone Inspector General of Police Sharath Chandra said: "This was done to get control over the temple. So far four persons have been arrested. It is suspected that poison was mixed with the prasad."
The other accused in the case have been identified as Ambika, Madesha and Doddaya.
On December 14, around 150 people fell ill after they consumed prasad at the Sulavadi Kichchugutti Maramma temple. Of 150, 15 people were killed while others are undergoing treatment at a hospital
The police said that Mahadevaswamy, who is the main accused in the case, allegedly had differences with the temple's trust regarding the infrastructure and construction decision and thus he wanted to ruin the image of the committee to gain control over the administration. Along with Mahadevaswamy, another accused Ambika procured pesticides from the agriculture department by stating that her crop is deteriorating.
Earlier, the state government had announced an ex-gratia of Rs 5 lakh to the next of the kin of the deceased. It also said that the expenses incurred on account of treatment will be taken care of by them.