Muharram Poison Plot Pune Man Says He Wanted To Take Revenge On The World After Separating From Wife

MUMBAI: A day after the arrest of a 39-year-old Pune man for allegedly distributing poisonous capsules during the Muharram procession in Byculla, investigators said the accused confessed that he wanted to “take revenge on the world” after his wife separated from him two years ago and had planned to kill nearly 15,000 people.

The accused, Fayyaz Premji, a resident of Viman Nagar in Pune, allegedly told police that he believed the entire world had conspired against him following the breakdown of his marriage. According to investigators, Premji claimed he wanted to exact revenge by causing mass casualties during the religious procession.

Premji, a BBA graduate, was produced before a court on Saturday night, which remanded him to two days’ police custody.

Deepak Sawant, senior police inspector of Byculla police station, said investigators are yet to ascertain whether Premji had been undergoing psychiatric treatment. “After questioning him, it appears that he is mentally disturbed,” Sawant said. Police have summoned Premji’s father from Pune to record his statement.

Investigators also revealed that Premji’s mother and sister live in Iran and that he had been in regular contact with them. “His mobile phone has been sent for forensic analysis to ascertain the nature of his contacts in Iran,” said another officer from Byculla police station. Police, however, are still trying to establish how Premji procured the Zinc Phosphide allegedly used to fill thousands of capsules.

The incident unfolded during Friday evening’s Muharram procession, which began at Noor Baug in Dongri and proceeded towards Rehmat Baug Kabrastan via Hancock Bridge. The complainant, Salman Sayyad, 26, a Govandi resident employed at a bag manufacturing unit, told police that while taking a break from ritual self-flagellation, he was approached by a burqa-clad woman who offered him capsules claiming they were painkillers.

As is customary during Muharram processions, volunteers distribute free food, water, juice and medicines among participants. Police said several devotees, including Sayyad, consumed the capsules, while others accepted tablets allegedly handed over by Premji for distribution.

Within a short time, several people began complaining of nausea, uneasiness and discomfort. Police personnel deployed along the procession briefly detained Premji, noted down his personal details and let him go. However, as the condition of those who had consumed the capsules worsened through the night, reports of participants fainting began pouring in by around 4 am to 5 am on Saturday.

Acting swiftly, a police team raided the guest house in Dongri where Premji had been staying and recovered around 14,900 capsules allegedly filled with Zinc Phosphide, a highly toxic rodenticide capable of causing fatal poisoning.

“When those who had consumed the tablets started falling ill and reports of people fainting increased, we searched the guest house where the accused was staying. Around 14,900 capsules containing Zinc Phosphide were recovered and he was arrested,” said a police officer familiar with the investigation, requesting anonymity.

According to medical experts, Zinc Phosphide reacts with stomach acids to release phosphine gas when ingested or inhaled. The gas enters the bloodstream and can cause severe cellular oxygen deprivation, multi-organ failure, refractory shock and, in many cases, death.

Premji, who works with his father at their paint manufacturing unit in Pune, has been booked under Sections 109 (attempt to murder), 110 (attempt to commit culpable homicide) and 123 (causing hurt by means of poison, etc.) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023.

Police said the recovery from the guest house was even more alarming. Investigators found nearly 30,000 capsules, of which 14,900 had already been filled with Zinc Phosphide.

“The accused had ordered nearly 50 kg of Zinc Phosphide and 30,000 empty capsules online. He stayed at the guest house for more than 15 days, filling each capsule with about one gram of the poison before allegedly distributing them during the procession,” the officer said. All the seized material has been sent to the Forensic Science Laboratory at Kalina for analysis.

Police sources said Premji had earlier worked in Iraq and Iran, where his sister is a doctor. Following his arrest by the Bhiwandi police, teams from the Intelligence Bureau, Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) and the Mumbai Police Crime Branch questioned him.