Vaduthala tragedy: Poison bought online, mixed in juice

KOCHI: Police have made new findings regarding the incident where five members of a family were found dead in a rented house in Vaduthala, Ernakulam. It has been found that the mother and grandmother had purchased poison online with the intention of killing the three children. The bodies of Aswathy S Nair (37), her mother Y. Sreekumari (59), and Aswathy's children Keerthivan (14), Karnivan (4) and Akshitha (2), natives of Vilappilsala, Thiruvananthapuram, were found on Saturday morning.

Police suspect that the poison used was potassium thiocyanate, which was ordered online. Three bottles of the chemical were reportedly delivered on August 12 to the Thiruvananthapuram address of Aswathy’s husband, Akshath. The substance, usually used for laboratory purposes, is believed to have been given to the children. Two of the three 500-gram bottles were used. Police recovered one unopened bottle and three empty juice bottles from the house.

Investigators said the family had visited a house they had rented out earlier in Thiruvananthapuram. The mobile phones of Sreekumari and Aswathy have been taken into custody, and more details about the purchase of poison are expected to be obtained from them. A detailed investigation is ongoing, said North SHO A. Anoop.

After the post-mortem at Kalamassery Medical College, the bodies were handed over to Sreekumari’s first husband and son. The funeral of all five was conducted at Pachalam crematorium on Sunday evening. Arrangements were made locally due to financial difficulties and challenges in transporting the bodies to Thiruvananthapuram.

Samples have been collected from all five bodies. Police said further action will be taken after receiving the chemical analysis report, which will reveal how much poison was consumed by the children.

Potassium thiocyanate
The use of potassium thiocyanate in crimes is considered very rare. In 2019, a similar case was reported in Tamil Nadu, where the chemical was mixed in food. The substance is odourless, dissolves in water, and has a slightly bitter taste. It is not yet clear whether any other toxic substances were mixed with it. This can only be confirmed after detailed chemical examination of internal organ samples.