Nearly three weeks after an Indian family of four were found dead in their home, investigators tell the BBC they are no closer to knowing what actually happened.

The Dokadia family – Abdullah, his wife Nasreen and their two daughters Ayesha and Zainab – were found dead at their home on 25 April in Mumbai’s Pydhonie area.

When the news broke, Indian media quickly dubbed the case “watermelon deaths”, after the last thing the family had eaten before their deaths.

The deaths received incessant media coverage in India, with lots of headlines advising caution while eating what is one of India’s most popular summer fruits.

Reports claimed the fruit was either adulterated or had been poisoned and that the couple and their teenage daughters died because they consumed it late at night. This even led to a crash in watermelon prices in Mumbai’s fruit markets after demand plummeted.

There was also a lot of speculation over whether the deaths were accidental or intentional.

Last week, police in Mumbai said forensic tests had shown it was zinc phosphide – an extremely toxic chemical commonly used to kill rats – that killed the Dokadias. They said it was found in their organs and the remnants of the fruit.

But despite the revelation, the case is far from being solved and there are many unanswered questions.

On Wednesday, sources in the Mumbai police told the BBC that there is still no clarity on the motive or how the poison entered the watermelon.

“We are still collecting evidence and looking at all angles for motives,” a senior police officer said. “We have not ruled out homicide, accidental death or suicide.”

The Dokadias lived on the first floor of an old building in south Mumbai’s Pydhonie area.

In their first comments after the deaths, police said that night the family had hosted some relatives for dinner where they had eaten biriyani – a rice dish cooked with meat and fragrant spices.

The guests left at 22:30 and a few hours later the Dokadias ate watermelon. Soon after, they became ill.

“They all began suffering from vomiting and diarrhoea. They were taken to a nearby hospital and later transferred to JJ Hospital. However, all four individuals unfortunately died,” Deputy Commissioner of Police Pravin Mundhe told the media.

On hearing about their distress, neighbours, including Dr Zaid Qureshi who lives on the fourth floor of the building, rushed to help the family.

“I noticed that the youngest of the four individuals was experiencing difficulty breathing. I administered CPR. However, as her condition did not improve, she was taken to a nearby hospital. She passed away,” Dr Qureshi told BBC Marathi.

“The other three individuals were transferred from a local hospital to JJ Hospital,” he said, adding that they also died. Their post-mortem reports are still awaited.

Police said they seized all the food items, including rinds of the watermelon, to check for adulteration. As the last item the family had eaten before becoming ill, the attention was focused on the fruit.

Last week’s report from the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) in Mumbai shifted the focus from watermelon to zinc phosphide.

The chemical was “detected in the deceased individuals’ viscera samples – specifically in the liver, kidney, and spleen – as well as in samples of stomach contents, bile and abdominal fat”, FSL director Dr Vijay Thakare told BBC Marathi. “Zinc phosphide was also detected in the watermelon sample.”

Mundhe, who is investigating the case, also confirmed that the chemical was “detected in the watermelon samples collected during the investigation, although it was not found in any other food samples sent for analysis”.

The building in which the Dokadias lived has a rodent problem, according to a report in the Indian Express newspaper. It says that many families use repellents, poison cakes and glue pads to get rid of these pests.

Some of the poison used to kill rats contains zinc phosphide which is “an extremely toxic chemical compound”, says Mumbai-based doctor Bhushan Rokade.

“Once ingested or upon contact with moisture, this chemical generates phosphine gas which inhibits the body’s cells from utilising oxygen and has severe repercussions on multiple organs.

“Symptoms include vomiting, a sensation of tightness in the chest, shortness of breath and going into shock. Even in very minute quantities, it can prove fatal,” Dr Rokade explained.

On Wednesday, a senior police official told the BBC they were still puzzled by how the rat poison ended up in the fruit.

“We have questioned 40-50 people, including relatives, friends, family, neighbours and Dokadia’s work colleagues. We have formed multiple teams that are working to solve the case.

“We will keep working until we find the answers,” he said. (BBC)

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Forensic examination has confirmed that the Mumbai family of four died of “poisoning”, not watermelon-induced food poisoning. 

The authorities have found traces of a toxic substance used to kill rats in the bodies of the victim and the samples of the fruit they had consumed. 

The massive twist in the case came days after their autopsies revealed a green tint in their internal organs, which is consistent with poisoning.

Abdullah Dokadia, 45, his wife Nasreen, 35, and their children, Zainab, 13, and Ayesha, 16, hosted a dinner for their relatives in their Mumbai home and served mutton pulao. The family consumed watermelon at 1 am, hours after their relatives left. By 5 am, all of them developed severe vomiting and diarrhoea and died within hours.

Forensic tests have revealed that all four of them died because of a lethal rodenticide.

Doctors have found traces of zinc phosphite, a toxic chemical used in rat poison, in their bodies.

Zinc phosphite was also found in the samples of the watermelon consumed by the family.

Investigators are now probing whether the chemical contaminated the fruit by accident, or if it was deliberately injected.

Organs Turned Green

Last week, initial forensic tests revealed that some organs of the victims, including the brain, heart, and intestines, had turned green, indicating poisoning. 

The tests had also found morphine, a potent painkiller usually administered in controlled medical settings, in Abdullah Dokadia’s body. Investigators were examining whether the finding pointed to prior medical intervention, accidental exposure, or something more suspicious.

Police had registered a case of accidental death and recorded the statements of the family’s guests, who consumed the pulao and were unscathed. (NDTV)

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Four members of a family, a 40-year-old husband, his 35-year-old wife, and their two daughters aged 16 and 13, have died due to suspected food poisoning in Mumbai’s Pydhonie area, police said on Monday. 

On Saturday night, a 13-year-old Zainab had a biryani feast with her elder sister, parents, and other relatives. A little after midnight, watermelon was served as a dessert. 

Severe symptoms followed the next morning. Treatment started, but nothing worked. Four of them died one after one: a tragedy played out over the next 12 hours and left Mumbai in shock.

The four deaths were due to suspected food poisoning, said police.

A Biryani Feast

Abdullah Abdul Kadar, a 40-year-old local trader who ran a mobile accessories shop, his wife Nasreen, 35, and the children, Zainab, 13, and Ayesha, 16, had gathered for dinner with five other relatives around 10:30 pm on Saturday. Biryani was on the menu. After the feast, they returned to their home in Pydhonie.

There were no complaints regarding health till that time. Back home, the family had watermelon around 1 am. Around 5 am, they started feeling unwell. There was vomiting and loose motion. Initially, a local doctor attended to them, but as their condition worsened, they were rushed to JJ Hospital.

Zainab, the younger daughter, died around 10:15 am. Her mother, Nasreen, 35, and elder sister Aisha, 16, also failed to respond to the treatment and died. Her father, 40, died around 10:30 pm.

Dr Ziad Qureshi, who had initially examined the family, said they were in a very bad state and appeared exhausted. “They had severe vomiting and diarrhoea. When I rushed them to the hospital, they informed me that they had eaten watermelon,” he said.

Suspicious Deaths

Officials said a case of accidental death has been registered, and post-mortem examinations have been conducted.

While food poisoning is being suspected behind the suspicious deaths of the four family members within a gap of 12 hours, the police have recorded a half-eaten piece of watermelon and sent it for laboratory testing. “Samples collected from the bodies during the post-mortem have been collected for further investigation,” said Pravin Munde, Deputy Commissioner of Police at Mumbai police.

The forensics and food departments have also been pulled together for the investigation. The state Food and Drug Administration is probing whether the watermelon they consumed had any external toxic substance or adulterant, while the forensics team will correlate the causes of death based on food samples and viscera reports.

The microbiology department at JJ hospital is testing for the presence of infections or bacteria, while the tissues will be examined through histopathology tests. The final opinion on the cause of death is reserved pending the histopathology report. (NDTV)

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