Rat poison, not watermelon, caused death of 4 family members in Mumbai

A report by the state-run Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) submitted on Thursday to the investigators said traces of zinc phosphide, a highly toxic rodenticide had been found in samples of the viscera taken from all four deceased members of the Dokadia family.

Traces of zinc phosphide were also found in the watermelon samples taken from the Dokadias’ home, a significant finding as all four family members had eaten the fruit after having dinner with their relatives.

Within hours of that, Abdullah Dokadia, 40, who ran a mobile phone business in Andheri, his wife Nasreen, 35, daughters Ayesha, 16, and Zainab, 13, had reported nausea, vomiting and shortness of breath. They were taken to the hospital but died one after the other on the intervening night of April 25 and 26.