Man arrested for distributing suspicious tablets during Muharram procession

At the guest house in Dongri where the accused was put up, police found around 30,000 tablets of which 14,900 were filled with Zinc Phosphide, a highly toxic compound used as rodenticide

MUMBAI: The Byculla police have arrested a 39-year-old man for allegedly distributing tablets containing Zinc Phosphide, a common rodenticide, during the Muharram procession at Byculla on Friday. Numerous participants at the procession who consumed the tablets the accused claimed were pain killers reported feeling uneasy and nauseous while some also fell unconscious, police said.

(Shutterstock)

According to the police, on Friday evening, the Muharram procession started from Noor Baug, Dongri and made its way towards Rehmat Baug Kabrastan via Hancock Bridge. The complainant, Salman Sayyad, 26 – a Govandi resident who works at a bag manufacturing unit – was part of the procession, and was taking a break from ritual self-flagellation when a burqa clad woman approached him with some capsules, claiming they were pain killers, he told the police.

During the Muharram procession, several things such as food, medicines, juice and water are distributed free of cost among participants.

Like Sayyad, several others consumed tablets handed to them by the woman and others, including Pune resident Fayyaz Premji, 39, who allegedly gave the tablets to procession participants for distribution. When those who consumed the tablets raised an alarm as they were feeling uneasy and nauseous, police personnel accompanying the procession detained Premji briefly and noted down his name, address and other details.

When ingested or inhaled, Zinc Phosphide reacts with stomach acids to release phosphine gas, which enters the bloodstream, and causes systemic cellular anoxia, multi-organ failure, refractory shock, and often death.

Premji is a resident of Viman Nagar in Pune, and he works with his father at their paint manufacturing unit. He 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.

At the guest house in Dongri where Premji was put up, police found around 30,000 tablets of which 14,900 were filled with Zinc Phosphide.

“The accused had ordered online around 50 kg Zinc Phosphide, and 30,000 empty capsules. He had filled each capsule with 1 gram Zinc Phosphide, staying in the guest house for over 15 days. These tablets were then distributed during the procession,” the officer quoted earlier said. All the seized items would be sent to the forensic laboratory in Kalina for confirmation, the officer added.

Premji had earlier worked in Iraq and Iran, where his sister is a doctor, police sources said. After he was arrested by the Byculla police, teams from the Intelligence Bureau, Maharashtra Anti-Terrrorism Squad (ATS) and Mumbai police crime branch interrogated him.

The police said that prima facie, the motive behind his act was not clear and he was giving a lot of vague answers.