Arrested for poisoning his two minor sons, Rajkot man found dead in jail

“The matter came to light when someone visited the jail toilet on Tuesday morning,” Police Inspector Jaydev Desai, in charge of the ‘B’ Division police station in Gondal town, told The Indian Express.

Gondal sub-jail is located in the jurisdiction of the newly notified ‘B’ Division police of Gondal town. Police officers said Makwana, a casual labourer, was found dead in barrack No 1 in yard No 1 of the sub-jail at 6.45 am on Tuesday.

Makwana was arrested by the ‘B’ Division police on Sunday after the investigation revealed that he had poisoned his two sons late on Friday night. The two boys had died while undergoing treatment for diarrhoea and vomiting in Rajkot civil hospital on Saturday. Makwana had initially told police that his two sons had fallen ill after having their meal at a local dargah on Vora Kotda Road in Gondal town. However, based on a complaint filed by Makwana’s former wife Hiral Muchhadiya, the ‘B’ Division police had booked him for the boys’ murders.

Desai said that during the investigation, Makwana had confessed that he had made his two sons drink a powder that is used as a grain preservative and killed them as he suspected that he was not their father. Makwana used to have quarrels with his wife Hiral over this issue, the police said.

The police later recovered one empty sachet of grain preservative powder and another sachet which was intact. During custodial interrogation, Makwana had told the police that he planned to kill his sons and then take his own life, Desai had told The Indian Express on Monday.

The police had produced Makwana in a local court on Monday evening. As police did not seek his remand, the court had sent him to 14-day judicial custody.

Makwana and Muchhadiya, who had been married for 15 years, got divorced on August 28. A resident of Vadiya village in neighbouring Amreli district, Makwana had got custody of the two sons. Around 10 days ago, Makwana had shifted to Gondal town from Vadiya.