SRS activist among 3 arrested for poisoning school water tank in Karnataka

New Delhi, Aug : Police in Karnataka’s Belagavi district have arrested three individuals, including a local leader of the Sri Ram Sene (SRS), for allegedly mixing poison into the drinking water tank of a government Kannada primary school in Hulikatti village, reported The Times of India.nAmong those arrested is Sagar Patil, the president of the Savadatti taluk unit of the SRS, who has been identified as the key conspirator.

According to Belagavi Superintendent of Police Bhimashankar Guled, the incident took place around 15 days ago and led to the hospitalisation of 11 students who fell ill after consuming the contaminated water.

The other two arrested have been identified as Krishna Madar and Magangouda Patil. The police said the accused targeted the school because its headmaster belongs to a minority community. They allegedly believed that poisoning the water would lead to a crisis, forcing the transfer of the headmaster. Investigations revealed that Sagar Patil procured the poison from Munavalli village and enlisted Krishna Madar's help by threatening to reveal details of his relationship with a girl from another community. The toxic substance was reportedly mixed into the school tank with the help of one of Sagar’s relatives, who is also a student at the same school. All three accused have been remanded to judicial custody, police confirmed. (Source: Times of India)