Father held for poisoning 2 minor sons, police say he suspected their paternity

In his statement to the police, 47-year-old Rajesh had initially said that his two sons fell ill after having a meal at a local dargah in Gondal town. “However, later on, he confessed that he had poisoned his two sons as he suspected that they had been fathered not by him but someone else,” KG Zala, deputy superintendent of police of Gondal division in Rajkot, told The Indian Express Monday.
The DySP said Rajesh spiked glasses of water of his sons with poison before asking them to drink it. “Prima facie, the poison was some grain preservative in powder form. After he confessed to the crime, we scanned his home and recovered a sachet of the powder,” said Zala.

He added that Rajesh, who is a native of Vadia village in neighbouring Amreli district, had a turbulent married life. “He used to have quarrels with his wife Hiral as he used to suspect his wife’s fidelity and the couple had parted ways two weeks ago by agreeing to a divorce,” said the DySP.

Based on a complaint filed by Hiral Muchhadiya, the mother of the two boys, an offence of murder has been registered against Rajesh at ‘B’ Division police station in Gondal town.

Police Inspector Jaydev Gosai, in-charge of ‘B’ Division police station, said that Rajesh and Hiral had “divorced” 17 days ago. “After the divorce, the man got custody of the two children. However, he was not getting work and finding it difficult to provide for his two sons, besides his suspicion of their paternity. Therefore, he purchased two sachets of the grain preservative Friday morning. At 10:45 pm on Friday, he gave the powder to his two sons and asked them to consume it saying it was a medicine,” Gosai said.
The police inspector said they had suspected Rajesh from the very beginning. “But we were going slow as the man had lost his two sons. But once we found two sachets of the grain preservative, one of them empty and one intact, we pressed him about it and he eventually confessed to having poisoned the two children.”

Gosai added that Rajesh had planned to take his own life after killing his two sons. “He had shifted to Gondal from Vadiya around 10 days ago only. The father had been thinking of killing his two sons and then ending his own life. According to that plan, he poisoned his two sons. But somehow, his plan ended there,” said the inspector, adding, “As we had managed to collect the required evidence after arresting the accused, we didn’t seek his remand. Therefore, the court sent the accused to judicial custody.”