Shillong, Mar 18: The death toll from the Karnataka food poisoning incident at a private school in Mandya district has risen to two after another Meghalaya student lost his life in a hospital.
Meghalaya Chief Minister, Conrad K Sangma, on Tuesday expressed shock over the incident and announced that arrests have been made.
The owner of the private school and the hostel warden have been taken into custody by Karnataka police after 30 students in a hostel, mostly from Meghalaya, were rushed to hospital with suspected food poisoning after they had been given leftover food from a Holi celebration on Friday.
Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma made the announcement on the arrests through a post on his X (formerly Twitter) handle.
He also informed that Commissioner and Secretary (Home) Cyril Diengdoh, along with other government officials, is in Karnataka to assist affected families and coordinate with local authorities.
One of the deceased students from Meghalaya has been identified as Khrehlang Khongtani, a Class VII student, while the identity of the second victim is yet to be confirmed. Both were among the 23 students from Meghalaya who were residing in the hostel where the tragedy occurred.
Following the food poisoning incident, all affected students have been hospitalized by the local district administration.
Meghalaya government has announced an ex-gratia of Rs. 3 lakh for the families of the deceased and has assured full medical support for those undergoing treatment.
CM Sangma also added that efforts are on to bring the students back to the State.
