A 39-year-old Pune man, who was arrested for distributing toxic capsules disguised as painkillers during a Muharram procession in Mumbai’s Byculla last week, told investigators that he wanted to “take revenge on the world” after his wife left him two years ago.
The accused has been identified as Faiz Premji, a resident of Pune. Police said several people who participated in the Muharram procession took the capsules after being told they were painkillers. Many of them later complained of nausea and discomfort, while some also lost consciousness.
“Revenge” due to separation from one’s wife
Investigators said Premji admitted that he wanted “revenge on the world” after his wife broke up with him two years ago and planned to kill nearly 15,000 people.
Police said the accused claimed that he believed the world had turned against him after the collapse of his marriage, HT reported earlier.
According to investigators, Premji allegedly said that he wanted to take revenge by causing a large number of deaths during the religious procession.
Deepak Sawant, senior police inspector at Byculla police station, said investigators were still trying to determine whether Premji was receiving psychological treatment. “After questioning him, he appears to be mentally disturbed,” Sawant said.
Is there an Iranian connection to the case?
Investigators also found that Premji’s mother and sister lived in Iran, and that he maintained regular contact with them.
Another officer from Byculla police station said: “His mobile phone has been sent for forensic analysis to ascertain the nature of his communications in Iran.”
Police sources told HT that Premji had previously worked in Iraq and Iran, where his sister works as a doctor.
Mumbai Muharram Toxic Conspiracy
The incident occurred during the Muharram procession on Friday evening, which started from Noor Baug in Dongri and headed towards Rahmat Baug Kapistan via Hancock Bridge in Maharashtra.
The complainant, Salman Sayyad, 26, a resident of Govandi who works in a bag manufacturing unit, told police that he was taking a break from the self-flagellation ritual when a woman wearing a burqa approached him and offered him capsules, saying they were painkillers.
Police said several devotees, including Sayyad, swallowed the capsules, while others accepted the tablets that were allegedly given by Premji to be distributed to participants.
Soon after, many people begin to feel nauseous, irritable, and uncomfortable. Police personnel deployed along the procession briefly stopped Premji, recorded his personal details and allowed him to leave.
However, after the condition of those who took the capsules deteriorated overnight, police raided the guest house in Dongri where Premji was staying. During the search, officers found about 14,900 capsules that allegedly contained zinc phosphide, a highly toxic rodenticide that can cause fatal poisoning.
A police officer familiar with the investigation, who requested anonymity, said: “About 14,900 capsules containing zinc phosphide were found and he was arrested.”
According to medical experts, zinc phosphide reacts with stomach acid to release phosphine gas when swallowed or inhaled. The gas enters the bloodstream and can lead to severe oxygen deprivation at the cellular level, multiple organ failure, thermal shock, and, in many cases, death.
Premji, who works with his father in a paint manufacturing unit in Pune, has been charged under Sections 109 (attempt to murder), 110 (attempt to commit culpable homicide), 123 (causing hurt by poison, etc.) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Act, 2023.
