Maharashtra: Five died, 120 fell sick after woman poisoned food; says she was taunted and tortured over dark complexion
Maharashtra: Five died, 120 fell sick after woman poisoned food; says she was taunted and tortured over dark complexion
In a bizarre act, a 23-year-old woman allegedly poisoned food she served at a feast hosted by a relative that resulted in the death of five people and 120 fell ill. Woman held said her intention was to kill her husband and her in-laws, who used to torture her and taunt her over dark complexion and cooking.
Police said 23-year-old Pradnya Survase of Khalapur, Raigad about 70 km from Mumbai, confessed to mixing a powder used to kill snakes into the dal that was served to later batches of guests at the feast hosted by her relative Subhas Mane in Mahad on Monday.
“Pradnya claims that since her marriage two years ago, she has been insulted regularly for her dark complexion and accused of not being able to cook well,” said Vishwajeet Kaingade, senior inspector of Khalapur police station.
“She (Shinde) had been taunting her (Survase’s) mother-in-law for bringing Pradnya into the family. This too had led to problems in Pradnya’s married life,” said Kaingade.
“She has named her mother-in-law, Sindhu Survase, husband Suresh Govind Survase, sisters-in-law Ujwala Pawar and Jyoti Ashok Kadam, and her mother in-law’s sister Sarita Mane and Sarita’s husband, Subhash Mane for the alleged torture,” the officer said.
“She took the powder to Mane’s house. Those she wanted to kill ate the food before she could mix the poison,” said Kaingade. “Around 4.30pm, Sarita Mane, Jyoti Kadam and Ulka Shinde’s kids sat down to eat. Pradnya then decided to kill them and mixed the poison in the dal bucket,” said Kaingade on Thursday.
Soon after the dinner, the guests complained of stomach aches and began to vomit incessantly. They were rushed to different hospitals one after the other. Five people died, including four children, and 120 guests fell sick after consuming the food, police said. Four children between the ages of seven to 13 and a 53-year-old man died of food poisoning, an officer said.
"She has confessed to the crime citing marital, family disputes. Further investigations are on," said Raigad Superintendent of Police Anil Paraskar told news agency ANI.