Pune man arrested in Byculla with 14,900 toxic capsules at Muharram procession
On Friday evening, the Byculla Police arrested a 39-year-old man for allegedly distributing toxic capsules containing zinc phosphide to participants of a Muharram procession near the Rehmatabad Cemetery in the Reay Road area of Byculla, Mumbai. The arrest of Fayyaz Premji foiled a suspected sabotage plot and led to the seizure of 14,900 poisonous capsules, preventing a potential mass poisoning.
The suspected plot was uncovered when an alert female participant in the procession grew suspicious of the capsules being distributed. After questioning the distributor and receiving unsatisfactory explanations, she opened one of the capsules, noticed a red-coloured powder inside, and immediately alerted police personnel stationed at the venue.
Police quickly intervened and intercepted Premji, who was distributing the capsules for free by claiming they were pain-relief medicines and immunity boosters. While police had only permitted the distribution of food, water, and refreshments, the unauthorised capsule distribution drew immediate attention. One recipient, Salman Sayyed, consumed a capsule and was hospitalised with severe stomach pain and vomiting. He is currently in stable condition.
According to the police, Premji is a resident of Viman Nagar in Pune, holds a Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) degree, and works in his family's paint business. He had been staying at a hotel in Mumbai's Dongri area for 15 days prior to the incident. Investigators found that he had allegedly ordered 50 kilograms of zinc phosphide, a highly toxic chemical used as rodenticide, along with 30,000 empty capsules, filling each with approximately one gram of the poison.
While police recovered 14,900 capsules, the remaining capsules are yet to be traced. Authorities have urged anyone who received the capsules to surrender them to the nearest police station. A case has been registered at the Byculla Police Station under Section 123 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). Police also seized Premji's passport, Aadhaar card, and phone, noting he had travelled to Iran and Iraq in 2025, though officials stressed that no conclusions regarding terror links have been made yet.
