(MENAFN- Gulf Times) Police in Maharashtra have arrested a 28-year-old housewife for allegedly poisoning food at a family function that killed five people, including four children.
The woman, arrested in the Raigad district on Friday, committed the crime as she was was fed up with constant taunts from her husband's family and in-laws over her dark complexion and lack of cooking skills, police said.
She had allegedly laced the food prepared for a house-warming party thrown by a relative on Monday with pesticide, senior police official Sanjay Patil said.
Four children, between 7 and 13 years old and a 53-year-old man died after consuming the food.
The dead included two of her relatives.
'The woman was married two years ago (and) said she was humiliated and victimised by her husband's family who often mocked her over her dark skin tone and lack of cooking skills, Patil said yesterday.
'She admitted to the crime citing marital, family disputes. She held a grudge against them and she had an intention to kill her in-laws and other relatives by mixing pesticide in the food.
At least 20 victims still remain in hospital.
The woman identified as Pragnya alias Jyoti Survase, 23, has been booked for murder and was produced in a court yesterday, which sent her to police custody for six days, he added.
The incident took place in Mahad where local resident Subhash Mane had organised the housewarming dinner for nearly 120 relatives and friends.
After dinner, many people complained of stomach ache, giddiness and started vomiting incessantly in the early hours of Tuesday.
At least four died by daybreak. Another person died hours later.
Over 80 relatives and friends of Mane, who consumed the ‘dal' laced with a snake-killing chemical, were rushed to private and government clinics for treatment and most of them have been discharged.
However, police investigations over the past five days revealed that the chemical used to kill snakes was commonly used in the region, which abounds with these slithering reptiles.
Accordingly, they focused their investigation on persons responsible for making the dinner or serving food, and found that Survase had got herself admitted to a hospital pretending to be ill after the party.
Finding this suspicious, the police questioned her thoroughly, after which she broke down and confessed to the gruesome crime.
She is a close relative of the Mane family.
The police added that her apparent targets were her second husband, mother-in-law and two sisters-in-law, who were habitually taunting her for her dark complexion, her earlier marriage and lack of culinary skills.
But they escaped as they had already eaten that evening, even as the poisoned ‘dal' was eaten by many of the other victims, five of whom were killed, they added.
Cases of women being ill-treated or physically abused at home are reported regularly across India.
Indian society also holds a deep-rooted perception that fair skin is beautiful, while there is a bias against people with darker skin tones, which is often associated with poverty.
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