Wife and paramour kill Mumbai businessman by slow poisoning

When Kamalkant's mother died in June 2022, Jain and Kavita hatched a plan to kill Shah and also get a hold of all his property. They started mixing arsenic in his food. He thus consumed slow poison multiple times leading to severe deterioration in his health over time.

Mumbai: The Mumbai Crime Branch on Friday arrested a woman and her paramour for murdering her husband Kamalkant Shah. She allegedly poisoned her husband to death two-and-a-half months ago. The accused have been identified as Kavita Shah and her friend Hitesh Jain.

According to the police, the deceased, Kamalkant Shah (45) was a resident of Santacruz West. He got married to Kavita (45) in 2002. The accused Hitesh Jain was a friend of Kamalkant, as both were working in the garment business. Kavita, who also knew Hitesh, got into an extramarital affair with him about a decade ago. This led to differences between the married couple, and they started getting into fights frequently.

When Kamalkant's mother died in June 2022, Jain and Kavita hatched a plan to kill Shah and also get a hold of all his property. They started mixing arsenic in his food. He thus consumed slow poison multiple times leading to severe deterioration in his health over time. Shah was initially admitted to CritiCare Hospital in Andheri on August 27, police said.

Later he was shifted to Bombay Hospital on September 3, where he died on September 19. "The medical report suggested traces of arsenic and thallium were found in his body. Based on the circumstantial, technical, and medical evidence, Kavita and Jain were arrested on the charge of murder on Friday,” police said.

The hospital management had alerted the police about the case, after which the police recorded the statement of Shah’s sister Kavita Lalwani. She suspected foul play in his death and asked for the incident to be investigated. The evidence found after an investigation proved the crimes of the accused, leading to their eventual arrest.

The couple Ramakant and Kavita has left behind two children — a 20-year-old daughter and a 17-year-old son.