Pune Man Apprehended in South Mumbai Over Alleged Muharram Mass Poisoning Plot
A 39-year-old businessman from Pune was apprehended by police in South Mumbai on Saturday after allegedly plotting a mass poisoning of Shia mourners during an Ashura procession. Faiyaz Premjee, an outspoken ex-Muslim activist, allegedly prepared nearly 14,000 toxic capsules disguised as pain relief medication to distribute to the crowd.
According to investigators, the capsules were laced with zinc phosphide, a highly toxic rodenticide. Premjee allegedly moved through the crowds gathered on the streets of South Mumbai to observe Muharram, distributing the capsules under the guise of pain medicine before police intervened, preventing a potential mass poisoning event.
Premjee belongs to the Khoja Shia community, a historically influential trading community with roots in Gujarat and Kutch. He has family ties to Pune and Hyderabad, with his father working as a businessman in Pune.
According to Premjee’s own past accounts, he began questioning religious orthodoxy early in life. Around 2015–’16, he joined a small group of reformists within the Khoja Shia community in Mumbai, advocating for a more liberal interpretation of Islam and challenging conservative practices. However, he struggled to find support and faced backlash from the community.
Premjee previously claimed that his public criticism of religious figures led to sustained harassment, the vandalism of his Pune business, and social ostracization. By 2019, he had abandoned Islam, identifying as an atheist and an ex-Muslim.
He relocated to Iran in 2019, believing the country was gradually embracing reform, but later described it as equally conservative. Over the following years, Premjee built an online presence, frequently appearing on right-wing podcasts and YouTube channels to criticize Shia Islam, Iran, and his former faith. He claimed to earn a living through stock market trading during his time in Iran.
It remains unclear when Premjee returned to India. Mumbai Police are currently investigating what prompted the alleged poisoning attempt and whether Premjee acted alone or received assistance in planning the attack.
