Santacruz murder: Wife kills husband for full control of his company

“It is a case of double murder," stated the chargesheet filed by the Mumbai crime branch on Monday in the deaths of Santacruz businessman Kamalkant Shah and his mother. “His wife Kajal Shah, with the aid of her lover, acquire arsenic and thallium, which were used to slowly murder the mother-son duo with the intent of taking over his property,” it added.

As maintained by the investigating officer,"there is enough evidence to prove that both were killed with the help of arsenic and thallium procured from Punjab and Byculla with the help of some dealers."

The unit 9 of Mumbai police's crime branch on Monday filed the chargesheet of more than 2000 pages against Kajal and her lover Hitesh Jain, containing statements of 75 witnesses.

"Kajal was one of the three directors in Kamalkant's garment company, besides him and his mother. After murdering the mother-son duo, she got full authority of the company. Both Kajal and Jain were procuring poison since June and July," the chargesheet stated.

“Kamalkant's mother Sarla Devi was administered arsenic and thallium through food,” the charge sheet stated. She was hospitalised for stomach pain and died because of multiple organ failure on August 13, 2022.

Furthermore, the chargesheet mentioned that “as no one was suspicious of Sarla's death, the accused conspired to eliminate Kamalkant, too, it said. They procured arsenic from a dealer based in Byculla who is known to Jain, and thallium from Punjab.”

"We have recorded their statements under 164 CrPc. There are witnesses and forensic reports, which confirm that Shah and his mother were killed by slow poisoning,” the officer said.

However, the crime branch does not have direct evidence in Sarla Devi's murder case, as she was cremated and there was no blood report on metal tests. However, an officer privy to the matter said: "There are witnesses and evidence that arsenic was procured in August, too, which confirms that the poison was used to eliminate her.”

The matter surfaced last year, when Bombay Hospital doctors treating Kamalkant noticed that there was zero growth in his hair, beard and moustache. They carried out metal tests and the reports showed high levels of arsenic and thallium. The doctors informed the police.

Kamalkant died on September 19, and his autopsy report established that it was a clinically diagnosed case of poisoning.

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