Mumbai police arrest man for attempted poisoning at Muharram

Police in Mumbai have arrested a man accused of attempting to carry out a mass poisoning by distributing thousands of capsules filled with a toxic rodenticide during a major religious procession on Friday. Authorities say their intervention averted a potential tragedy.

The incident occurred during an Ashura Muharram procession in the Byculla area of south Mumbai on the night of June 27. According to police, the suspect, identified as Fayyaz Premji, was moving through the crowd handing out capsules while claiming they were painkillers or immunity-boosting supplements. The alleged plot began to unravel when volunteers monitoring the procession grew suspicious, examined a capsule, and alerted police officers on duty. Premji was detained at the scene.

The seriousness of the situation became clear hours later when a participant, Salman Sayed, was hospitalized around 4 a.m. with severe vomiting and stomach pain after consuming one of the capsules. Police linked his illness to the seized items. Deputy Commissioner of Police Jayant Meena stated that during questioning, Premji confessed to a conspiracy to target the procession and cause mass harm.

Investigators allege Premji, a...