Noida, Oct 18 The investigation into the deaths of five members of a family in Greater Noida of suspected poisoning has taken a turn, with police arresting three relatives of the deceased man for alleged abetment to suicide, officials said on Sunday.
Two sisters and a brother-in-law of the deceased man were arrested based on a complaint registered by a relative, Rabupura Station House Officer Sujeet Upadhyay said.
According to police, the deceased man, Mahesh (37), recorded a voice note on his mobile phone before death, allegedly holding the three accused — his elder sister Sunita (45), brother-in-law Shekhar alias Chandrashekhar (50) and younger sister Sapna (32) — responsible for the deaths.
Preliminary information gathered from neighbours and relatives suggests Sunita allegedly influenced their mother Chandrawati to transfer in her name the house where Mahesh lived with their mother, police said.
Mahesh was reportedly distressed after learning about this, they added.
CCTV footage from the area around the house did not show any outsider entering the premises, police said.
Preliminary investigation suggests a property dispute may have led to the incident, they said.
The post-mortems, which were videographed, indicated signs of poisoning, following which viscera samples were sent for forensic analysis. The exact cause of death will be known once the report is received, police said.
Teams from the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) and the food safety department were also called to the spot to conduct an investigation, police said.
Mahesh, his wife Lalita (35), their daughter Mishti (7), and sons Sakshat (11) and Riyansh (3) were found dead on Saturday morning at their home in Nagla Padam village near Rabupura.
Preliminary suspicion pointed to possible food poisoning, with reports suggesting that the family ate noodles before their deaths.
Police have registered a case under Section 108 (abetment to suicide) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) based on a complaint filed by Lalita’s brother, officials said.
While Shekhar and Sunita live in Delhi’s Shalimar Bagh, Sapna lives in Khera Kalan in the capital, police said, adding that the trio are being questioned.
The last rites of all five family members were performed on Saturday night in the presence of villagers and relatives, locals said.
The sight of the funeral ceremonies, particularly those of the three children, left mourners grief-stricken, with an atmosphere of shock and sorrow prevailing in the village.
(PTI News)
