17-year-old girl dies after mistaking rat poison for ‘vibhuti’ during puja in Bhopal

BHOPAL: A 17-year-old girl allegedly died after accidentally consuming rat poison, mistaking it for vibhuti (holy ash), in the Lambakheda area of Eintkhedi on Sunday. The girl revealed the incident in her statement to the police while she was undergoing treatment.Police said the deceased, Vaishnavi Sen, 17, a Class 12 student at a private school, performed puja in the temple inside her house on the morning of Feb 7. After the ritual, she unknowingly consumed rat poison kept there, assuming it was sacred ash.According to Eintkhedi SHO Ashish Sapre, Vaishnavi's mother kept the poison in the temple to kill rats that frequently hid in the prayer room. A few hours later, when the girl returned from coaching, her health deteriorated.