Maharashtra: Man poisons food at niece's reception as she married without his approval

A man, who was upset over his niece getting married without his permission, decided to poison the guests at her wedding reception. The incident happened in Utre village of Maharashtra’s Kolhapur district on Tuesday.

Dramatic scenes unfolded at a wedding reception in Utre village when the enraged uncle, identified as Mahesh Patil, allegedly gate-crashed his niece's wedding reception and poisoned the food prepared for the guests, said a PTI report. His efforts were, however, foiled since no one at the reception ate the food. When Mahesh was poisoning food, the people present at the event managed to stop him. He, however, managed to flee the spot, reported PTI.

Mahesh is currently on the run and the food he allegedly poisoned has been sent for testing, according to the report.

The accused was allegedly upset because the bride had run away with a man from the village and got married, which was not acceptable to him, Panhala police station's sub-inspector Mahesh Kondubhairi told PTI.

“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,” he said.

The bride was brought up at the accused Mahesh's home, who is her maternal uncle, the report added, quoting the police.

Case against the accused

A case has been registered against Mahesh Patil under several sections of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita for putting people’s lives in danger.

"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)," a police official told PTI. "Efforts are on to nab him," he added.