No Rat Poison Found in Utensils in Mumbai Watermelon Deaths Probe
Forensic test reports have found no trace of the toxic chemical zinc phosphide in the utensils, food items, and rat repellent spray recovered from a residence in the Pydhonie locality of Mumbai, where four family members died in April.
The test results, which police received this week, have added complexity to the ongoing investigation into what has been termed the "watermelon deaths." The deceased have been identified as Abdullah Dokadia, aged 40, his wife Nasreen, aged 35, and their two daughters, 16-year-old Aayesha and 13-year-old Zainab.
On the morning of April 26, the four family members died in a hospital. This occurred hours after they had eaten chicken pulao for dinner with five other relatives at their Pydhonie home, followed by eating watermelon after midnight.
An initial forensic report had previously confirmed the presence of zinc phosphide, a highly toxic substance commonly used to kill rats, in both the watermelon and the victims' viscera. This finding pointed to death by poisoning, prompting investigators to try and trace how the chemical got into the fruit.
To establish the source of the contamination, police investigators collected and sent several items from the family's kitchen for a second round of forensic testing. These items included a kitchen knife, three big cooking spoons, four plates, raw rice, chicken pulao, and a bottle of herbal rat repellent spray found at the residence.
However, the latest forensic analysis returned negative results for zinc phosphide across all the submitted items, ruling out contamination in the tested cooking utensils and food preparation materials.
Following these findings, the police are re-probing multiple angles to explain the tragedy, including murder, murder and suicide, mass suicide, and accidental death. Investigators are also examining a potential financial angle.
The police are currently awaiting the post-mortem report for the younger daughter, Zainab, along with cyber analysis reports of the family members' mobile phones, to shed more light on the case.
