{
  "id": 5513382,
  "title": "Man instigates schoolgirl to mix cow dung powder in sambar at school in Erode, arrested",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/04/man-instigates-schoolgirl-to-mix-cow-dung-powder-in-sambar-at-school",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-04T07:28:54.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Hindu",
    "slug": "the-hindu",
    "url": "https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Coimbatore/man-instigates-schoolgirl-to-mix-cow-dung-powder-in-sambar-at-schoolin-erode-arrested/article71427218.ece"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "A 48-year-old man, Arumugam, was arrested for allegedly inciting a schoolgirl to adulterate cow dung powder in sambar during a meal program at a government middle school near Sathyamangalam in Erode district. The incident came to light on August 31 after a teacher, Revathi, noticed the sambar had a bitter taste while inspecting it. The headmistress informed the police, who conducted an investigation and discovered that Arumugam had given ₹10 to a student to buy cow dung powder and mix it with sambar meant to be tasted by the teacher. The powder was not added to the sambar served to the students. Arumugam's wife, Alammal, had previously worked as a cook at the school and was replaced due to complaints about the quality of her cooking, which reportedly upset Arumugam. He was arrested and remanded in judicial custody.",
  "summary": "Officials found that cow dung powder had been mixed only with a small quantity of sambar kept separately for a teacher to taste and that it had not been mixed with the sambar served to the students",
  "key_points": [
    "48-year-old Arumugam arrested for inciting schoolgirl to adulterate sambar",
    "Teacher Revathi noticed bitter taste in sambar, reported incident",
    "Arumugam's wife previously worked as school cook, replaced due to complaints"
  ],
  "editors_take": "The incident suggests a personal vendetta by Arumugam, who may have been motivated by a past grievance against the school after his wife was replaced as a cook due to complaints about her work.",
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "The Hindu",
        "title": "T.N. man instigates schoolgirl to mix cow dung powder in free breakfast scheme sambar at Erode school, arrested",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/04/t-n-man-instigates-schoolgirl-to-mix-cow-dung-powder-in-free",
        "published": "2026-09-04T07:37:44.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}