Bizman tried to mislead probe by taking thallium

The accused was first called for questioning on March 22 after police received the complaint, but he denied his role. “He claimed he didn’t eat the fish as he had jaw pain… His twin children had milk and didn’t eat the fish either. To throw police off his trail, he decided to consume some drops of thallium. When he was called for questioning a second time, he informed police he was in hospital for a medical test and shared a report which showed thallium in his blood,” a senior police officer said.

The officer said Arora had been planning the crime since last December and had procured the substance for Rs 22,000 from an online pharmacist.

DCP (West) Urvija Goel said they received information on March 22 that one Anita Sharma was declared dead at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital. “Doctors, in the medical report, had said she died of thallium poisoning; it was detected in her blood and urine. We also came to know that Anita’s elder daughter Divya was in the ICU, undergoing treatment for thallium poisoning. We then found that Anita’s younger daughter Priyanka had died during treatment on February 15 and had displayed symptoms of thallium poisoning such as hair loss and burning feet. Anita’s husband, Devender Mohan Sharma, who made the complaint, was not admitted but had complained of sudden hair fall.”

“Arora was questioned and he admitted to procuring thallium and administering it to his in-laws and wife. He wanted to take revenge on them for humiliating him. On his instance, a small glass bottle containing thallium was recovered from his house and his phone containing information on the procurement of thallium was also seized,” said the DCP.