The sessions court has rejected the bail plea of Kavita Shah, who allegedly killed her husband and mother-in-law by giving food laced with arsenic and thallium. Sessions judge Rajesh Sasne said, "She has played a vital role in the commission of offence. There is sufficient material against her… if released on bail, she may tamper with the prosecution evidence."
Details of case
It was claimed that Santacruz resident Kavita Shah was in a relationship with Hitesh Jain, who too is an accused in the case. Her husband Kamalkant became seriously ill and died on September 19, 2022; his mother Sarla had passed away on August 13 that year. The post-mortem revealed metal poisoning in both cases. The complaint was filed by Kamalakant’s sister. The police investigation later revealed the modus operandi.
Kavita has contended lack of material evidence or her involvement in the offence. The prosecution, however, said there Kamalkant and Sarla exhibited similar symptoms, and medical reports detected arsenic and thallium, which count as established evidence to hold Kavita and Jain responsible.
As per the prosecution, the applicant (Kavita) was the only one insisting on not carrying out the blood tests. “Unlike the rest of the family, she was also not keen on a police probe,” the prosecution argued.
Court's observations
The court observed, “There is also material evidence about the relationship between the applicant and the co-accused. There is CCTV footage and evidence about their stay at hotels. There is also evidence about their search for a poisonous substance. The material on record shows that there is motive behind the crime. All these facts reveal that the applicant was involved in the offence.”
The court further accepted the apprehension expressed by the prosecution that if released on bail, Kavita may tamper with the evidence and influence the witnesses as most of them are her relatives. “There is substance in the apprehension raised by the prosecution. There are chances that the applicant will flee from justice,” the court said.
