Maharashtra’s Gadchiroli district witnessed the death of five family members under strange circumstances in the course of twenty days. Two women from the same family in Mahagaon village, who were arrested on 18th October, were involved in a complex murder plot, per investigations. According to the authorities, the two accused are Sanghamitra Kumbhare and Rosa Ramteke were involved in the plot.
36-year-old Rosa Ramteke was dissatisfied because of a property dispute while 22-year-old Sanghamitra Kumbhare was unhappy with her husband and in-laws.
Over the course of two months, the two painstakingly prepared and carried out their plan between mid-September and 15th October. The family members were poisoned by using arsenic, a colourless, odourless and tasteless heavy metal. Weary of family property disputes and domestic abuse, the duo banded together and looked up ways to kill people online after which they procured a slow poison called thallium from Telangana.
Shankar Kumbhare and his spouse Vijaya displayed signs of food poisoning on 20th September. Their condition quickly deteroriated and caused the pair to first experience physical discomfort and then heart problems as a result of gradual poisoning. They were initially transferred to a local hospital in Aheri. They were then taken to Chandrapur and shifted to a private hospital in Nagpur from there.
On 26th September, Shankar passed away and his wife also lost the battle to stay alive a day later. Their son Roshan Kumbhare and daughters Komal Dahagaokar, and Ananda were also hospitalised while the family was still in mourning. Their condition deteriorated with each passing day and eventually, Komal died on 8th October, Ananda on 14th October and Roshan lost his life the following day.
The unexplained deaths of five family members in a month raised suspicions which led to the discovery of the poisoning. Furthermore, apart from the deceased, two family members and a driver were also hospitalised due to the same symptoms. According to the medical officer, the three were in a stable state.
Sagar Kumbhare, the eldest son of Shankar Kumbhare, hurried from Delhi to Chandrapur as soon as he learned of the tragedy, however, fell sick when he reached home. Rakesh Madavi, the driver for the Kumbhares, who took Shankar and Vijaya to Chandrapur for treatment, was also admitted to the hospital when his health deteriorated. A relative who was helping the family by visiting Chandrapur and Nagpur also became ill and required medical attention.
Background of the poisoning incident
Sanghamitra, an Akola native, wed Roshan Kumbhare in December 2022. A police officer informed, “Her parents were against the relationship and she eventually eloped with Roshan and moved into their house at Mahagaon in Gadchiroli.”
She stayed there along with Roshan, his sister Komal, and his parents Shankar and Vijaya. All four, along with Varsha Urade, the latter’s sister, were victims of the scheme carried out by Sanghamitra and Vijaya’s sister-in-law, Rosa. Sanghamitra’s marriage did not work out as planned and her spouse is accused of abusing her based on the police. She was mistreated by other family members as well.
She claimed that Roshan and his parents forbade her from returning home to celebrate Raksha Bandhan with her family. A family argument erupted as she persisted and charged him with assault. “While Sanghamitra sat crying outside the house, her aunt-in-law Rosa Ramteke saw her and consoled her. Sanghamitra confided in her and told that she feels like killing them,” said an official.
Sensing an opportunity, Rosa, who was at odds with Roshan’s family over ancestral land, began influencing her further against them. A senior cop mentioned, “Vijaya had three sisters and a brother, Rosa Ramteke is her sister-in-law. Vijaya’s father had a four-acre land and she was pushing for equal distribution of the property among the five siblings. However, Ramteke felt that the property should only go to her husband (the only son in the family).”
The officer pointed out that Rosa gave Sanghamitra her word that she would assist her in killing the family members. The two had since started searching for ways to kill people on Google. They had originally ordered a toxic flower online to add to their food, but they eventually abandoned the idea out of fear of being discovered.
Subsequently, they learnt that thallium is a slow killer and they could add it to the meals of the family members without leaving any evidence. The two then began incorporating thallium into food of family members after obtaining it from Telangana in mid-September. The police still don’t know how they obtained the poison.
According to Sanghamitra’s police confession, she combined thallium with a non-vegetarian dish for Shankar, Vijaya and Komal, and with lentils for Roshan. Rosa took the responsibility of administering Thallium to Varsha Urade. On 20th Septembe,r Shankar and Vijaya complained of a heavy tongue, darkened lips and tingling in their limbs. They also reported having terrible lower back discomfort and headaches. They died before the physicians could determine the cause of the disease.
An investigator said, “While their children were recovering from the loss, the health of Komal, Urade and Roshan also deteriorated. They were also admitted to hospital and died on October 8, 14, and 15 respectively.” However, the medical officer believed they were all poisoned because of the symptoms they shared. In light of this, the Gadchiroli police opened an investigation and brought Sanghamitra to the station to be questioned.
An investigator added, “We got suspicious of her role as she was the only person in that house who did not develop any symptoms. However, when she saw Roshan in the hospital, she started feeling guilty and asked the doctors to check whether there was any poison inside him.”
The woman admitted to the crime during inquiry and she also divulged the identity of her accomplice. Rosa was hauled to the police station as well where she admitted to mixing the poison into Urade’s food. Three more people, including their driver, were similarly poisoned, per the police and they are presently recovering in various hospitals. Immediately, four teams were set up to execute probes in different areas of Telangana and Maharashtra.
Superintendent of Police Neelotpal stated, “During the investigation, we kept a close eye on Sanghamitra, who was Shankar Kumbhare’s daughter-in-law and Roshan Kumbhare’s wife. Sanghamitra had married Roshan against her parents’ wishes. A few months back, her father died by suicide and since then, she has been upset. Further, her husband and her in-laws subjected her to frequent taunts and this was the reason she wanted to get rid of them.”
He added, “Rosa Ramteke was Vijaya Kumbhare’s sister-in-law. She stayed in a house nearby. She had disagreements over the sharing of the ancestral property of her husband’s parents with Shankar Kumbhare’s wife and her sisters. The two women were produced before the court and remanded in police custody for 10 days. We suspect that more people are involved in the crime. We are trying to identify them.”
