Daijiworld Media Network - Mumbai

Mumbai, Jun 28: Mumbai police have reportedly foiled a suspected major poisoning attempt after a man was allegedly found distributing capsules containing poisonous substance to devotees during a Muharram procession in Byculla on Friday.

The accused, identified as Faiyaz Premji, was taken into custody after police discovered that capsules being distributed in the crowd in the name of herbal painkillers allegedly contained zinc phosphide, a poisonous substance commonly used as rat poison.

Police seized around 14,900 capsules from the accused and launched an investigation into his motive behind distributing the suspected poison among roughly about 15,000 devotees.

According to officials, thousands of people were participating in the procession when Faiyaz was allegedly seen handing out capsules. He reportedly claimed that the capsules were herbal painkillers meant for those who suffered injuries during the procession.

The matter came to light after a devotee identified as Salman Syed began vomiting, following which police became suspicious and examined the capsules recovered from Faiyaz.

During the investigation, police reportedly found that Faiyaz had ordered 50 kg of zinc phosphide powder and 30,000 empty capsules online.

After learning that the capsules being distributed could be poisonous, police immediately entered the crowd and made announcements through loudspeakers, warning devotees not to consume them. The alertness of police helped prevent possible casualties, officials said.

Investigations revealed that Faiyaz, a resident of Pune’s Viman Nagar area, had arrived in Mumbai around 15 days ago and was staying at a hotel in Dongri.