Wife, lover held for poisoning husband
MUMBAI: A woman and her lover have been arrested for allegedly poisoning her husband to death two-and-a-half months ago.
According to the police, the deceased, Kamalkant Shah, 45, was a resident of Santacruz West. He was into the garment business.
Shah got married to Kavita, 45, in 2002. The couple has two children— a 20-year-old daughter and a 17-year-old son. Hitesh Jain, 45, was Shah’s friend as he was also in the garment business and stayed in Vile Parle.
Officials attached to Unit 9 of the crime branch said that the medical report of the Bombay Hospital, where Shah was admitted, suggested traces of thallium and arsenic in his body.
“Based on the circumstantial, technical evidence and medical evidence, Kavita and Jain were arrested on the charge of murder on Friday,” Sanjay Khatade, senior inspector of Unit 9, said.
“Jain and Kavita were having an extramarital affair for over a decade. Due to which Kavita and Shah used to fight. It appears that the two wanted to get married and also acquire Shah’s property,” the officer added.
When Shah’s mother died in June, Jain and Kavita planned to kill Shah. They started mixing arsenic in his food. They gave him poison multiple times due to which his health deteriorated and Shah was initially admitted in Criticare Hospital in Andheri on August 27, Khatade added.
Shah was later shifted to Bombay Hospital on September 3, where he died on September 19.
The hospital authority had informed the Santacruz police, who recorded the statement of Shah’s sister Kavita Lalwani. Shah’s sister suspected foul play in his death.
The accidental death report case was later transferred to the Mumbai crime branch in October and Unit 9 launched an investigation into the death of the garment businessman by recording statements of Shah’s wife, Jain, and a few relatives and friends.
Based on the evidence, a murder case was registered and Kavita and Jain were arrested.
Both of them were produced in the court and remanded to police custody till December 8, the officer added.