TIRUCHY: As part of the initiative to reduce the number of rat poison-related human deaths, Tiruchy range police have made it mandatory for all approved shops to notify details of buyers of rat poison paste to a special officer for each district.
A total of 365 persons committed suicide in the past three years allegedly by consuming rat poison. Over the years, rat poison consumption has been on the rise in Tiruchy range (Tiruchy, Karur, Ariyalur, Perambalur and Pudukkottai). As one of the more lethal poisons, the mortality rate is high. If a person intentionally or accidentally consumes rat paste poison (which contains yellow phosphorus) and since the chemical only shows external symptoms once the situation gets serious, the number of deaths has been reportedly on the rise.
Accordingly, to police reports, rat poison cases have been on the rise over the past three years. In Tiruchy range, as many as 138 cases were reported in 2018, 165 in 2019 and 63 in 2020 till May.
In handling the increasing cases, police have been taking several measures, including controlling the sale of rat poison in unauthorised shops. About 228 shop owners, including 160 in Tiruchy and 68 in Pudukkottai, have been booked for selling rat poison.
Though police have been trying to restrict shops from selling the lethal poison, incidents still continue to occur across the district.
In an average month, 10 cases are reported in the district. Balakrishnan, DIG, Tiruchy range, said, “In the first phase, we have stopped all unauthorised shops from have been selling it in the range. For the second phase, we have listed all the approved shops in the range and brought them under a WhatsApp group in their respective districts. It has been made mandatory that from today onward all the approved shops have to get details of the buyer of rat poison and should report in the WhatsApp group or to the concerned district well-being officers.”