Third death in Delhi's Thallium poisoning case

A Delhi-based builder had been apprehended for allegedly poisoning his in-laws and spouse with a highly toxic heavy metal. Delhi police said that the accused had served thallium in the dinner meal to his wife and in-laws. In this case, the wife of the accused Divya who was undergoing treatment in Gangaram who had slipped into a coma has passed away.

New Delhi: The wife of Varun Arora, accused in the infamous thallium poisoning case who was in a coma for a long time succumbed to the effects of poisoning. Earlier Arora's mother-in-law and sister-in-law had died due to poisoning but his father-in-law managed to survive.

Varun, a builder who resides in Greater Kailash was arrested after he allegedly used Thallium to kill his in-laws in West Delhi's Inderpuri. According to Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) (West), Urvija Goel, Thallium has been used in the past to eliminate political rivals because of its slow effect.

Varun

"Varun had made fish for dinner and had mixed thallium, a slow poison. He excused himself from eating the poisoned food, claiming that he suffered from jaw pain after watching a comedy show. The kids in the family had milk, hence, they also didn't eat the fish prepared by him," Goel said.

On February 3, Varun's sister-in-law, Priyanka Sharma, fell sick and later died. Varun's wife, Divya, also fell sick after the death of his sister-in-law and mother-in-law and slipped into a coma. While her mother, Anita Sharma, died on March 22. It was during Divya's treatment at the Sri Gangaram Hospital, that the presence of Thallium was detected in the body. While Varun's father-in-law who reported sudden hair-fall managed to survive the poisoning.

During the investigation, the role of Varun emerged as he confessed to the crime. Varun and Divya had married 12 years ago. He claimed his in-laws allegedly used to taunt him for not having a baby.

Having failed to conceive naturally, Varun and his wife through the in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) process were blessed with twins four years ago. However, last year, Varun's wife had conceived naturally, but their happiness didn't last long, as she had to undergo an abortion after doctors ruled her pregnancy was 'life-threatening'.

According to Varun's father-in-law, Devendra Sharma, Varun was angry with the abortion.