BELAGAVI, 2 AUG

Three people, including the President of the Savadatti taluk Shri Ram Sena, have been arrested for mixing pesticide into a government primary school’s water supply in Hulikatti, Belagavi. 

Police said that the accused had mixed the poison some 15 days ago, after which 11 students fell ill and were hospitalised. They had done so because the headmaster of the school was from the Muslim community, and they wanted him to be transferred, Belagavi Superintendent of Police Bhimashankar Guled said Saturday.

The accused, Sagar Patil – the Sena President, Krishna Madar and Magangouda Patil were also considering threatening to expose the headmaster’s relationship with a woman from another community if the plan had not worked out.

As one of his relatives was a student of the school, Patil managed to get access to the tank, police said.  All the accused were remanded to judicial custody, Guled said.