At least 11 children fall ill after members of Hindu group poison school's water, police say
Authorities arrested three people in connection with the incident, including the local leader of the Hindu right-wing group Sriram Sene, from the state's Belagavi district.
They had poisoned the school's water tank at Hoolikatti village in an attempt to force the transfer of the Muslim headmaster, Belagavi police superintendent Bheemashankar S Guled said.
He said Sriram Sene leader Sagar Patil and another alleged perpetrator Nagangouda Patil had blackmailed a local resident named Krishna Madar over his interfaith relationship and coerced him into poisoning the school's water supply, The Hindu reported.
Madar allegedly purchased three types of insecticide, mixed them in a juice packet, and persuaded a young student to pour the contents into the water tank.
'We utilised scientific evidence and student interactions to solve this case. This was a planned, deeply disturbing attempt motivated by communal hatred,' Mr Guled said, according to The Indian Express.
Mr Guled told reporters on Saturday that the Sriram Sene men had plotted to frame headmaster Suleman Gorinaik for the poisoning.
They aimed to stir sectarian tensions by orchestrating a situation that would discredit the headmaster and force his removal, authorities said.
The Independent has reached out to the Hindu group for comment.
Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah described it as 'a heinous act driven by religious fundamentalism and hatred'. 'Many children fell ill in this incident that took place 15 days ago,' he said in a social media post on Sunday. 'Fortunately, no one was killed.'
The Times of India reported that 11 children had taken ill after drinking the poisoned water but recovered.
'This incident, which could have led to the massacre of small children, is proof that religious fundamentalism and communal hatred can lead to any heinous act. I cannot believe it even at this moment,' the chief minister added.
The chief minister also launched a scathing attack on the prime minister Narandra Modi's BJP party, accusing its leaders of using religion to sow societal division.
'Let the BJP leaders, who sow hatred in society in the name of religion and cook their political rice, do some self-criticism,' Siddaramaiah said.
Calling for vigilance against radicalism of all kinds, he added: 'We have formed a special task force to prevent hate speeches and communal riots, and we are taking all possible action against such people within the ambit of the law. For all our efforts to bear fruit, the public should also raise their voice against such forces, resist them, and file complaints. Congratulations to the police personnel who broke the evil plan of carrying out the massacre of children.'
In the wake of the incident, Muslim organisations in Karnataka have demanded a ban on Sri Ram Sene. They submitted a memorandum outlining their demand to the government through the Belagavi deputy commissioner's office on Tuesday.
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