More than 60 people fell ill after consuming prasada during the Ramnavami celebrations at Bettenahalli village, Devanahalli taluk, Bengaluru Rural district, on Saturday.

Around 400 people had consumed the prasada in the morning, of whom several began experiencing symptoms such as abdominal cramps, vomiting and diarrhoea after 10 hours. “Around 60 reported symptoms from 1 a.m. onwards on Sunday and all of them are out of danger,” Lakka Krishna Reddy, Bengaluru Rural District Health Officer (DHO), told The Hindu.

He said most of the affected were treated at the Aradeshanahalli Primary Health Centre in Devanahalli, while some were shifted to nearby private healthcare facilities. Dr. Reddy said several of those admitted as inpatients had been treated and discharged, while around 14 persons received treatment in private facilities.

Health department teams rushed to the spot and initiated treatment measures. Food samples, including the ‘kalu prasada’, have been collected and sent to the Forensic Science Laboratory for analysis to ascertain the exact cause of the illness, he said.

The DHO said that the situation is under control, and no serious complications have been reported so far. Further investigation is under way.