Overview
- An FSL report delivered Thursday found zinc phosphide, a rat poison, in all four victims’ organs and in a watermelon sample from the home, while other foods tested negative.
- Investigators, who say the family fell ill after eating watermelon around 1 a.m. on April 26, are now examining whether the ingestion was accidental, homicidal, or a suicide pact.
- Police disclosed Friday that they seized two rat-poison packets and a rat-poison spray from the family’s residence as they trace how the chemical reached the fruit.
- State forensic officials said the toxin was inside the fruit with no sign of surface tampering, and detection took multiple test rounds after the victims had vomited much of the material.
- Zinc phosphide releases phosphine gas in the body and has no specific antidote, and the scare over the case has already driven down watermelon demand and prices in Mumbai markets.