Kolar: One person died and six were hospitalised after consuming prasad prepared for the Friday pooja at the Gangamma temple in Chintamani, in Kolar district in Karnataka.

Among the 11 people who fell sick, three are children and are being treated at RL Jalappa Hospital in Kolar. Meanwhile, two people working in the temple have been arrested in this regard. Reports say both have confessed that they had used expired food ingredients to prepare prasadam.

A family visited Gangamma temple in Chintamani in Chikkaballapur district on Friday. After the pooja, the family members were offered prasad. None of them consumed it at the temple. Instead, they took it home and ate. After eating the prasad, one woman died and 11 fell ill. They were immediately rushed to the hospital.

In a similar incident in December 2018, at least 17 people died and hundreds of devotees fell ill after consuming prasad at Kicchugatti Maramma Temple in Chamarajanagar, Karnataka.

A seer and three others including a woman were arrested on charges of conspiring to kill devotees. It was alleged that the accused wanted to defame the management and take control of the temple trust. The police had stated that they had poured five bottles of pesticide when the prasad was being prepared.