Mumbai: Cook Accused of Stealing, Poisoning Actor's In-Laws Acquitted

Mumbai: Observing that actor Bhagyashree’s husband in his testimony has not identified any accused who allegedly decamped with assets worth more than ₹26 lakh after poisoning the tea of his parents, a sessions court has acquitted the family cook and another co-accused.

On January 24, 2014, Triveni Nishad served spiked tea to the actor's in-laws, Pannalal Dasani and Shakuntala Dasani, and they lost consciousness after drinking it.

Tea Poisoning incident

The elderly couple’s son, Himalaya, and his sister had tried to reach his parents over the phone in the morning, but did not get an answer. They had called up their maternal aunt, who lived in the nearby building, and asked her to check on them. The aunt had found the two lying unconscious in the Vile Parle flat.

The siblings then took their parents to a hospital and later found that cook Nishad had poisoned their tea and made away with jewellery and cash. Subsequently, Himalaya had lodged a police complaint. The duo accused were booked along with two others under Indian Penal Code sections 328 (causing hurt by poison), 381 (theft by servant), 307 (attempt to murder), among other offences.

Actor unable to identify the culprit

Nishad and his co-accused Pinto Nishad had absconded during trial while other two accomplices were acquitted in 2016. The trial against the present duo began after 2019. Only the actor’s husband and the investigating officer of the case were examined in the court. Additional Sessions Judge AA Kulkarni said on perusal of Himalaya’s evidence, it is clear that he has not identified any of the accused. In such circumstances, evidence of the witness is not useful to prove any offences against those accused hence the duo is entitled for acquittal, the court said.

POINTERS :

Case details

On January 24, 2014, cook serves poisoned tea to actor's in-laws

Her husband and sister-in-law try to contact their parents

Later, they ask their maternal aunt to check on the elderly couple

She discovers the duo lying unconscious in Vile Parle flat

Cook and his accomplice are booked for attempt to murder

Their other two partners in crime are acquitted in 2016