Overview
- Volunteers at a south Mumbai Muharram procession grew suspicious when a man handed out pills and a hospital admission for vomiting led police to trace, detain and formally arrest 39‑year‑old Faiyaz Premjee, who has been remanded to police custody.
- Mumbai Police allege the capsules were laced with zinc phosphide, a highly toxic rodenticide, and that Premjee had prepared nearly 14,000 such capsules for distribution.
- Investigators say Premjee told them his resentment dated to a 2015 Jamaat election loss and a long break with the Khoja Shia community; the Pune KSIJ has publicly said he was debarred from the organisation.
- Authorities are still trying to confirm how many people actually consumed the capsules, whether others helped plan or prepare them, and whether there are wider links to his online activities or foreign travel.
- The case has raised public‑safety questions about the rare distribution of medicine during processions and officials plan forensic tests, hospital checks and digital probes to establish motive and victim counts.