A swarm of bees attacked devotees at the Dantala Lingamaiah temple in the Nallamala forest area on Tuesday, resulting in one death and injuries to over 30 persons.The incident occurred on the outskirts of Pathamadugula village in Kothapalle Mandal, Nandyal district.
The deceased was Shivashankar Reddy, 65, a retired village revenue officer (VRO) from Jillella village in Gospadu mandal.
Reports said about 60 devotees were participating in religious rituals at the Dantala Lingamaiah temple, organised by the villagers of Pratakota.
According to reports, there are two diferent versions, some say that some unidentified miscreants reportedly threw a stone and tried to disturb a honeycomb and all of a sudden a swarm of honeybees attacked and stung the devotees at the Lingamaiah temple.This sudden incident created a panic situation.
But according to the police, a group of devotees lit a fire as part of a ritual, which disturbed a honeycomb nearby, resulting in a bee attack
The injured were initially taken to the Erramatam PHC, where the VRO was declared dead upon arrival.Subsequently, the other injured were referred to the Atmakur government hospital.
Atmakur circle inspector Subramanyam said the actual cause of Shivashankar Reddy’s death was certified by doctors to be a heart attack.
