Wife, lover tried to poison him while he was in hospital

In the chats, Jain had instructed Kavita to mix 15ml arsenic and 2 ml thallium in bottled water after straining the mixture through a piece of cloth at least four times to obtain a clear mix. She was instructed to give it to her husband when she had the opportunity to do so while visiting him in the hospital

Mumbai: A fresh turn of events has emerged in the probe of the death of Santacruz-based textile businessman Kamlakant Shah in August, 2022. A charge sheet filed by the Mumbai crime branch against his wife Kavita Shah and her lover Hitesh Jain, has revealed that the duo had planned to sneak in small amounts of arsenic and thallium into Bombay Hospital, where Shah was admitted, to ensure his speedy death.

Mumbai, India - December 02, 2022: Kavita (left) and her husband Kamalkant Shah. Kavita and her lover have been arrested for allegedly poisoning her husband Kamalkant to death two-and-a-half months ago. (HT Photo) (Hindustan Times)

The charge sheet filed on Monday sourced from WhatsApp chats exchanged between the two, which exposed the plan even as doctors of Bombay Hospital were trying to save him.

In the chats, Jain had instructed Kavita to mix 15ml arsenic and 2 ml thallium in bottled water after straining the mixture through a piece of cloth at least four times to obtain a clear mix. She was instructed to give it to her husband when she had the opportunity to do so while visiting him in the hospital.

In the first WhatsApp chat, Jain instructed Kavita to keep her mobile handset away and not to receive any calls, except his and those from the hospital and her brother, Mahavir. In the second chat, he instructed her to reach the hospital by 1pm on a certain day.

Jain’s messages to Kavita were truncated, but clear in intent. Crime branch officials had him lucidly explain the messages to them.

The charge sheet also revealed that when Shah was admitted in the Bombay Hospital, his sister Kavita Lalwani had suspected foul play in his illness, as their mother Sarladevi also had died of similar symptoms in a hospital. Lalwani’s suspicion was directed to Kavita.

On learning about Lalwani’s suspicion, Jain had then planned to medicate her and make her ill. He had advised Kavita to mix two tablets of Amplopress in 10 ml water and lace Lalwani’s food with it. The medicine would lead to a variation in her blood pressure and make her sick. The plan, however, did not fructify.

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The backstory

Hitesh Jain and Kavita Shah are accused of murdering Kamlakant Shah, 46, by mixing arsenic and thallium in his food. The two, according to the police, have been in a relationship for a decade and wanted to get married. That’s when they hatched the plan to kill Shah and started mixing arsenic in his food, following which his health deteriorated. On taking ill, Shah was admitted to CritiCare Hospital, in Andheri, on August 27, 2022.

Subsequently, he was shifted to Bombay Hospital on September 3, where he died on September 19. Hospital authorities reported the death to Azad Maidan police and the case was transferred to Santacruz police, who recorded the statement of Shah’s sister Kavita Lalwani.

Police officials said Bombay Hospital’s medical report had suggested traces of thallium and arsenic in his body. The duo was arrested on December 2, 2022.

The charge sheet stated that the accused had also killed Shah’s mother, Sarladevi, as she died (on August 13, 2022) of similar symptoms, corroborated by doctors’ statements to the police. She was admitted to Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital, in Andheri, on August 2.