Mumbai Police Arrest Man for Allegedly Distributing Poison Capsules During Muharram Procession

Byculla: 14,000+ ‘Painkiller’ Capsules With Rat Poison Seized

A 39-year-old man from Pune has been arrested by Mumbai Police after a terrifying plot was uncovered to distribute toxic chemical capsules disguised as painkillers during a crowded Muharram procession in Byculla. Law enforcement officials were alerted by the hospital’s rapid-response system and were able to intervene with the suspect and seize a staggering 14,900 prepared capsules, narrowly avoiding what could have been a catastrophic mass tragedy.

Then the nightmare began: a few of the participants in the traditional self-flagellation ceremonies started to suffer violent vomiting and acute stomach cramps. The pills were provided by a supplier who said they were fast-acting pain relief supplements. The doctors at a local hospital, upon realising the symptoms were a dead giveaway for acute chemical poisoning, immediately raised an alarm to the city police, who moved in to arrest the suspect, identified as Faiyaz Premji.

A Very Troubling Operation in a Local Hotel Room

The budget hotel room where Premji had been living for more than two weeks revealed the frightening scope of the operation when it was searched. The suspect also bought 50 kilogrammes of zinc phosphide, a highly toxic substance found in commercial rat poison, and 30,000 empty gelatine shells – all via the internet, investigators found. He had been painstakingly hand-assembling the capsules in his room, stuffing about a gramme of the deadly rodenticide into each individual pill before passing them out to unsuspecting mourners.

Massive Chemical Seizure: Police seized 14,900 toxic capsules and the remainder of the bulk supply of zinc phosphide powder.

Critical Charges Lodged: The accused is facing serious charges like attempt to murder and causing hurt by means of poison under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.

Multi-Agency Investigation: The suspect is being interrogated by specialised units, including the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) and the Intelligence Bureau, to find out his exact motives.

Initial reports state that the suspect has been giving very erratic and vague answers when questioned, but investigators are leaving no stone unturned. They’re now looking into his recent travel history to Iran and Iraq, his recent financial transactions, and trying to determine whether he was operating totally alone or as part of a larger, organised network. Meanwhile, the city has stepped up surveillance and medical safety measures for all other public religious gatherings.