PUDUCHERRY: In a tragic incident, 17-year-old Swathi died after mistaking rat poison for toothpaste at Kariyamanikam in Puducherry. The daughter of J Kalpanath, from Bihar, who works as a supervisor in a private steel factory in Eripakkam, was waiting to join college.
On December 1, there was a power cut in the area and as usual she went to brush her teeth before bed. Mistaking the rat poison in a tube similar to a toothpaste, the girl started brushing with it.
On realising her mistake, she immediately washed her mouth and brushed with the toothpaste. She went about her business that night without any problems. The next day she developed stomachache and began vomiting. She was rushed to a hospital in Madagadipattu.
As her condition worsened, Swathi was shifted to the Stanley Medical College Hospital in Chennai, where she died on Saturday night. Residents of Nettapakkam held a protest claiming that there are frequent power cuts in the area and now this has led to the death of a girl.