Man 'poisons' estranged wife, her family with arsenic; mother-in-law dies

Hyderabad: A 45-year-old United Kingdom-based pharmacist from Hyderabad allegedly hatched a plan to kill his estranged wife and her family members by ”poisoning” them with arsenic-laced salt and chilli powder, police said.

The family members fell ill and the pharmacist’s mother-in-law, 60, died while undergoing treatment in June, they said, adding the pharmacist bore a grudge against his wife, who filed for a divorce following marital disputes.

Based on the complaint filed by the man’s wife at Miyapur police station here, a case of murder, attempt to murder, criminal conspiracy under relevant Indian Penal Code sections was registered and six persons, including his friends and his wife’s cousin, were arrested on August 18 while the pharmacist is absconding, police said.

The complainant’s marriage was solemnised with the pharmacist in 2018 and it was the second wedding for both of them, police said.

After marriage, the couple stayed in the city, but within a few days, her husband started mentally harassing her. Later, he left for the UK and told her to come there and promised to look after her, a release from the police said.

The complainant believed him and went to the UK along with her daughter. But within days of arriving, he again troubled her with both physical and mental harassment, following which she lodged a police complaint against her husband in the UK. Later, the woman moved out of her husband’s place and stayed separately as she soon sent a divorce notice to him, it said.

After the complainant’s brother’s marriage was fixed in June this year in Hyderabad, she and her daughter came down to the country and the relatives also came to their house. The pharmacist was also in the Hyderabad for the wedding.

Based on the complaint, police said her relatives suffered from diarrhoea, stomach ache and vomiting and her mother was admitted in a hospital where she died while undergoing treatment. In July, her brother, father, sister-in-law, who stayed in the same house, suffered from diarrhoea, stomach ache and vomiting and they were all admitted in a hospital.

A few days ago, the complainant and her daughter both suffered from diarrhoea after which she went to Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh for treatment where the doctor after examining them informed that some unknown persons might have poisoned her with arsenic, police said.

The complainant and all her family members, who ate food in their house, underwent diagnostic tests and the reports showed that they were all having huge arsenic levels in their body, police said.

The woman suspected her relative and the apartment watchman’s son, and on enquiry came to know that her husband with an intention to kill her and her family members had sent his friends and with the help of her cousin, they mixed arsenic in salt and chilli powder in the complainant’s house. Subsequently, she lodged the complaint against her husband, who had gone back to the UK by then, and the others, police added.