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Watermelon deaths mystery deepens after rat poison bottle is found
A forensic report confirmed zinc phosphide poisoning in the Dokadia family deaths.
A day after a forensic report said that a lethal dose of zinc phosphide, a rat poison, had led to the deaths of four members of a family from Pydhonie, police recovered a bottle of rat repellent from their home on Friday. However, zinc phosphide is not listed among the ingredients on the bottle, adding to a list of unanswered questions over the deaths.
“We have found a bottle of rat poison from the family’s house. However, it does not have zinc phosphide. We will send the bottle for forensic examination, anyway,” said an officer with the JJ Marg police.
The presence of rat poison in the house is not unusual as the Mogul building where the family lived was old and had rats on the premises, the officer said, adding that the probe will now focus on who laced the watermelon with zinc phosphide.
The death of the Dokadias – Abdulla Dokadia, 40, his wife Nasreen, 35, and their daughters Ayesha, 16, and Zainab, 13 – had baffled police for ten days, until the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) submitted its report to the police on Thursday.
The report stated that the viscera of all four deceased contained traces of highly toxic zinc phosphide. The toxin was also found in the watermelon that the family had a few hours before they fell ill on April 26.
Although the cause of death has been determined, key questions remain – where did the rat poison that laced the watermelon come from? Was the family murdered or was it a suicide pact? Is there still a possibility that these were accidental deaths?
Police had registered four accidental death cases when the Dokadias died. Now, they are not ruling out murder or a suicide pact.
“We have started our investigation afresh. To locate the source of the rat poison, we are checking CCTV footage and speaking with pharmacists to find out who sold the rodenticide and who has purchased it,” said a police officer.
“Our investigation will also focus on whether the deceased were under financial strain, whether there were loans they couldn’t repay, or whether they had enemies,” the officer said.
