Two women from Gadchiroli village have been arrested for planning and executing the murder of five family members over a period of one month. The accused, Sanghamitra Kumbhare and Rosa Ramteke, meticulously planned the murders over two months due to domestic violence and an ancestral property dispute. Their victims included Sanghamitra’s husband, Roshan Kumbhare, along with his parents, Shankar and Vijaya, and his sister, Komal, as well as Varsha Urade, Vijaya’s sister.
The plot began when Sanghamitra, who had faced domestic violence, sought to visit her family for Raksha Bandhan but was denied by Roshan and his parents. A fight ensued, and Rosa Ramteke saw an opportunity to further provoke Sanghamitra against her family. Ramteke had an ancestral property dispute with Roshan’s family, and she promised to help Sanghamitra eliminate her family members. They initially considered ordering a poisonous flower online but abandoned the idea due to fears of being caught. They later learned about Thallium, a slow-acting poison that could be discreetly added to food.
In mid-September, the duo procured Thallium from Telangana and began mixing it into the family’s food. The victims developed symptoms, including tingling in the limbs, lower backache, headaches, blackened lips, and heavy tongues. Shankar and Vijaya were admitted to the hospital but died within days. Other family members, including Komal, Urade, and Roshan, also fell ill and died in the following weeks.
Suspicions arose when the victims’ symptoms resembled poisoning. Sanghamitra, the only family member unaffected, confessed to her role and implicated Ramteke, who had mixed the poison in Urade’s food. Three other individuals, including a driver, were also poisoned but survived.
The two women have been remanded in police custody, and further investigations are ongoing to identify potential accomplices in the case.