In a incident in Maharashtra's Kolhapur district, a man reportedly gate-crashed his niece's wedding reception and poisoned the food prepared for the guests, allegedly due to his opposition to her marriage. Fortunately, no one consumed the tainted food, and samples have been sent for testing. Authorities revealed that the accused is currently absconding.
The incident occurred on Tuesday afternoon in Utre village, located in Panhala tehsil. After the man was caught by some people, he managed to flee the scene. The Panhala police have filed a case against the accused, identified as Mahesh Patil, a resident of Utre village and the woman’s maternal uncle. He has been charged with endangering public safety, according to Panhala police station's sub-inspector, Mahesh Kondubhairi.
According to the police, the woman had been raised at the accused's house. “She recently eloped with a man in the village and got married to him. Since, it was not acceptable to Patil, he gate-crashed the wedding reception ceremony at a marriage hall on Tuesday and mixed a poisonous substance in the food items which were being prepared for the guests,” Kondubhairi said. The official stated that as the man was mixing the poisonous substance into the food, those nearby attempted to intervene and managed to overpower him.
“He then fled from the spot. We have registered an offence against him under sections 286 (negligent conduct with respect to poisonous substance), 125 (act endangering life or personal safety of others) and other relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS),” the official said.