“Unusual circumstances” at the crime scene and no marks on the victim’s body led the investigating team suspect murder and not suicide in the Kishangarh case. Two people have been arrested for killing the woman in her house on March 17.
Neither was there any froth nor did the victim’s body turn blue, which usually happens in suicide cases caused by poisoning, they said. “These signs on the crime scene raised suspicion and we decided to get the victim’s autopsy done. What we suspected proved right when the report confirmed that it was not a natural death but murder,” said Devendra Arya, DCP (South-West).
He added that after conducting the post-mortem, the panel of doctors along with the forensic team visited the flat where the body was found but there were no traces of poison.
Mr. Arya said while planning the murder, the victim’s husband Rahul Mishra and his girlfriend Padma Tiwari ensured that no evidence is left behind.
“Padma on March 17 had come to visit the victim, Puja Rai, when she offered the latter a glass of cyanide-laced juice. After this, when Puja started vomiting when Padma smothered her with a pillow and left the flat with the glass. Padma and Rahul, who have been planning the murder for the past six months, used to talk only on WhatsApp calls to avoid getting detected,” said Mr. Arya.
Even after the murder, Rahul continued to stay in same flat and Padma in her house in Mayur Vihar. They met each other at different locations but never visited each other’s flat, the police said.
The accused allegedly told police that they had purchased cyanide from a person whom they had got in touch via the Internet. They transferred ₹17,000 for 5 ml of cyanide into the seller’s account and the chemical was delivered at Padma’s address.
“We have sent the victim’s viscera sample for forensic examination and the report is likely to come in next three months to ascertain the nature of the poison. Since the glass used in the crime have been destroyed, the only way to ascertain the nature of poison is the viscera report,” said an officer.
Fake suicide note
Rahul learned to match his wife’s handwriting for producing a fake suicide note, which was found in the flat on the day of the crime. The accused duo searched the Internet on how to kill a person in a way that would go undetected, the police said.