MUMBAI: A 65-year-old Parsi woman’s chef was arrested for feeding her deadly omelette.
The elderly woman had started feeling ill after eating her meals, little did she suspect that her vomiting was not due to contaminated food, but because of rat poison.
On the advice of her doctor, a piece of omelette Zeenia recently ate was sent to the FSL after she complained of nausea and loose motions.R
The chef Riyaz ul Haq, alias Mandal (33), was arrested on Saturday.
The findings shocked her, it was learned Mandal had been lacing her food with thallium for some time.
“Khajotia frequently complained of ill health and drowsiness after eating food cooked by Mandal. She also narrated her ordeal to her daughter, Tahmine” said a police officer.
“On August 11, Tahmine came to stay with her mother and had omelette and coffee prepared by Mandal. She too felt drowsy and suffered from nausea and vomiting. She immediately consulted a doctor and he asked them to get the food samples tested”
“We have called for Mandal’s call detail report (CDR) to find out who he was in touch with and are interrogating him. We want to know from where he procured the poison and what was the motive,” said the investigating officer.
The police carried out searches of Mandal’s room in Zeenia’s house, but nothing has been found except for a few tablets.
The family has also alleged that Zeenia’s mother, Shirin, had died a few years ago for unknown reasons and they strongly suspect this could have been the cook’s handiwork.
“There is no evidence to prove that my client adulterated the drugs and IPC section 328 (causing hurt by means of poison, etc) slapped by the police does not apply here. Moreover, why will the cook harm her for no reasons or motive? In fact, he has been working with the complainant family for the last 15 years. My client strongly suspects that he has been the victim of family disputes,” said Mandal’s advocate.
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