1 dead, 3 ill after fake health official gives ‘immunity pill’ in Erode

Police said that the stranger, aged around 25 years, had claimed to be from the health department, and visited a house at KG Valasuperumalmalai at Chennimalai in Erode district. He asked the family members to take the tablets immediately. Trusting him, Karuppannagoundar, 75, his wife Mallika, 58daughter Deepa, 30 and their domestic help Kuppammal, 65 swallowed the tablets. Before leaving, he checked their mouths with a torch light and informed them that they were free from the infection. In a short while, all the four persons swooned and they were rushed to the Erode government hospital for treatment.

While Mallika died on the way to hospital, both Karuppannagoundar and his daughter were referred to a hospital in Coimbatore after their situation began to worsen. “We suspect that there could be some intention behind the stranger specifically targeting a single family in the area. We had never seen him before in our locality,” said Kalyanasundaram, a farmer from the locality. Erode Superintendent of Police Sasi Mohan visited the scene of the offence and held inquiries. Police are clueless about the accused and are probing to track him down. Meanwhile, it was learnt later that the tablets were actually insecticides.