A Mumbai sessions court has acquitted a 37-year-old labourer, Mohd Ansari, of all charges, including murder and attempted murder, in the tragic 2021 case involving the poisoning of his three children, which led to the death of his youngest son. The court ruled that the prosecution "miserably failed to link the accused with the present crime," granting Ansari the benefit of the doubt after he spent over four years in judicial custody.
Prosecution's Case Crumbles as Witnesses Turn Hostile
The case, dating back to June 25, 2021, in Mankhurd, alleged that Ansari, driven by daily domestic quarrels with his wife Nazia, mixed a rat killer poison (Ratol) into ice cream and fed it to his three children: daughter Alina and sons Alishan and Arman. All three were rushed to the hospital with severe stomach pain and vomiting. Tragically, youngest son Alishan died on June 29, 2021, while undergoing treatment. The other two children recovered.
However, the prosecution's case completely unraveled in court. The victim's mother and complainant, Nazia Begum, turned hostile. She denied lodging the report against her husband, denied that Alishan died due to poison, and even filed an affidavit during a bail application stating her husband had committed no crime.
In a further blow, the daughter and surviving victim, Alina, also failed to support the prosecution's version. She testified that she, Arman, and Alishan ate "jelly which was purchased by them" before falling ill, not ice cream given by their father. She specifically denied that her father gave them "tub wali ice cream" containing poison.
Critical Medical and Investigative Lapses
The court highlighted severe deficiencies in the medical evidence and police investigation. The doctor who issued the final cause of death certificate admitted his opinion was incorrect. He conceded he had not collected a gastric lavage sample, deemed necessary to determine the cause of death, and acknowledged that the Chemical Analyzer's report for the viscera found "no poisonous substances."
The investigation was marred by multiple failures:
- The alleged Ratol tube was not seized from the accused's possession but was produced by the mother four days after the incident.
- Police failed to conduct a spot panchanama of the accused's house, the original site of the incident.
- Investigating officers admitted they "did not find any independent witness" to link Ansari to the seized poison tube or to the act of giving poison to the children.
- There was no evidence to support the claim that Ansari fled to Haridwar.
All other independent witnesses also failed to support the prosecution's version or the accused's alleged confession to them.
Court's Verdict and Aftermath
In light of the hostile witnesses, missing medical evidence, and a shoddy investigation, the court had no option but to acquit Mohd Ansari. The judgment pointedly noted the prosecution's failure to establish a concrete chain of evidence connecting the accused to the crime.
The acquittal brings a legal end to a case that began with a family tragedy in Mankhurd and saw the accused spend over four years in jail before the case collapsed due to a lack of credible, corroborative evidence. The court's decision underscores the legal principle that conviction requires proof beyond reasonable doubt, which the prosecution could not provide in this instance.
