Pune Man Arrested For Distributing Toxic Rodenticide Tablets In Byculla
The Byculla police arrested a 39-year-old Pune resident on Saturday for allegedly distributing highly toxic rodenticide tablets disguised as painkillers during a Muharram procession in Byculla and Dongri on Friday evening. Multiple participants who consumed the tablets suffered from nausea, uneasiness, and fainting spells.
The suspect, identified as Fayyaz Premji, was staying at a guest house in Dongri, where police later recovered approximately 30,000 tablets. Investigators revealed that 14,900 of these capsules were filled with Zinc Phosphide, a highly toxic acute rodenticide.
The incident unfolded during the Friday evening procession, which commenced at Noor Baug in Dongri and proceeded toward the Rehmat Baug Kabrastan via the Hancock Bridge. The complainant, 26-year-old Govandi resident Salman Sayyad, was participating in the procession. While taking a break from ritual self-flagellation, an unidentified burqa-clad woman approached him and offered him capsules, claiming they were painkillers.
During such processions, volunteers routinely distribute food, water, juice, and medicines. Sayyad and several other participants consumed the tablets. When those who took the capsules began feeling severely uneasy, an alarm was raised. Police personnel on duty briefly detained Premji, who was allegedly supplying the tablets to others for distribution, and noted his personal details.
By early Saturday morning, between 4:00 a.m. and 5:00 a.m., reports emerged of participants fainting. Byculla police officers then raided Premji's guest house in Dongri. Investigators discovered that Premji had allegedly ordered 50 kilograms of Zinc Phosphide and 30,000 empty capsules online. He had spent over 15 days at the guest house filling each capsule with one gram of the toxic chemical.
Zinc Phosphide is highly lethal; when ingested, it reacts with stomach acids to release phosphine gas, leading to systemic cellular anoxia, multi-organ failure, and death.
Premji, a resident of Viman Nagar in Pune who works at his father's paint manufacturing unit, has been booked under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) sections 109 (attempt to murder), 110 (attempt to commit culpable homicide), and 123 (causing hurt by poison).
Teams from the Intelligence Bureau, the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), and the Mumbai police crime branch have interrogated Premji. Police stated his motive remains unclear due to vague responses during questioning. All seized materials will be sent to the forensic laboratory in Kalina for confirmation.
