In late June, a newly married woman in her 30s approached a Guntur-based doctor complaining of severe burning, tingling, and numbness in the hands and feet. A crucial observation by the neurologist foiled the macabre plan of a UK-based Telugu pharmacist to allegedly murder his wife and her entire family, using his expertise in chemicals.
Though the accused succeeded in allegedly killing his mother-in-law through slow poisoning, others could be saved when they were immediately asked to undergo tests for the presence of arsenic in their body. Police are now on the lookout for M Ajith Kumar, who is in the United Kingdom, for plotting the murder. Six others from Hyderabad who aided Ajith in his sinister plan have been arrested by the Hyderabad police.
Ajith Kumar allegedly bore a grudge against his wife Sirisha and her family following a dispute. Ajith and Sirisha got married in 2018 and had settled in London. However, after alleged harassment by Ajith, Sirisha has been staying separately. The couple have a daughter.
Ajith learnt about Sirisha’s family gathering in Hyderabad for her brother Purnender’s marriage in June. Sirisha was staying at Gokul Flats in the Miyapur locality. Ajith allegedly plotted to eliminate Sirisha and her family by mixing arsenic in their chilli and salt. Police refused to share details about how Ajith carried out this nefarious plan.
After eating the arsenic-laced food, the family members suffered from gastroenteritis. They had stomach cramps and dragging discomfort in their legs and hands. While Sirisha and other family members got better, her mother Uma Maheshwari (60) had developed weakness of the limbs. After the wedding, Sirisha went back to the UK, Purnender to the US, and Balasasirekha (sister-in-law) to Guntur.
However, within a few days, Uma Maheshwari’s health deteriorated further and she had to be hospitalised. She was diagnosed with Guillain-Barre Syndrome, in which paralysis of both arms and legs occurs. She died shortly after and doctors assumed it to be a case of pulmonary embolism, a blood clot in the lungs.
Family members from various parts of the world came back to Hyderabad to perform the last rites and other rituals. And yet again, all of them fell ill with similar symptoms. Doctors suspected water contamination to be the cause of the illness. A few days later when their health stabilised, Sirisha left for the UK, Purnender to the US, and Balasasirekha to Guntur. There, Balasasirekha consulted a neurologist as she was suffering from a tingling sensation in her hands and numbness in the limbs.
“I got suspicious when four members of the family were hospitalised with similar symptoms, since they were staying in different places. Initially I thought that it was a case of lead poisoning, so I checked their gums. But their gums were fine,” the neurologist, who did not want to be identified because of safety issues, told TNM.
The neurologist said that he could detect arsenic poisoning immediately by noticing the white lines on their nails. “But I had to wait for the reports to confirm my suspicions. The blood and urine reports confirmed the presence of arsenic in all their bodies.”
Initially, the neurologist reached out to the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation authorities, to check if there was water contamination in the apartment. But the authorities checked and did not find anything suspicious.
“I asked the patient if she had any enemies who wanted to eliminate her. She did not suspect anyone. But I asked everyone in the family to undergo tests to confirm the presence of arsenic,” the neurologist said.
The other family members got tested in Hyderabad, and the doctors immediately informed the police since it was a medicolegal case.
The police kept a vigil on the family. During investigation after going through CCTV footage, the police found the activities of the watchman’s son suspicious. “We used scientific evidence to foil the plan. We went through bank accounts, CCTV footage, and the internet history of the accused. That is how we were able to crack the case,” said Miyapur Inspector M Prem Kumar.
The Miyapur police have registered a case under section 302 (murder), 307 (attempt to murder), 120 A (criminal conspiracy) of the IPC. Those who aided in Ajith’s criminal conspiracy, including his friend D Vinod Kumar, Y Bhavani Shankar, Bathula Ashok, Basiraju Gopinath, Poornender Rao, and Ramesh (son of the watchman), were arrested on August 18.
The Inspector informed that they are yet to approach officials to issue a lookout notice against the prime accused Ajith Kumar.