The Mumbai police are in no hurry to question Vithalbhai Patel, the man named by Ketan Anuwadia in his eight-page suicide note. Vithalbhai Patel, the Rajkot-based businessman, who had allegedly cheated Anuwadia of Rs 1.35 crore, was on a trip to Rajasthan, when Sunday Mid Day tried to reach him.
Additional Commissioner of Police (North region) Tukaram Chavan said that his men would first question Anuwadias relatives over the agreement. Chavan said, We will first question all his relatives and friends over their knowledge of the transaction. Only after that will we question Vithalbhai Patel.
Chavan also added that the police are also investigating the various ways Ketan could have laid his hands on potassium cyanide.
It is available in certain chemical and pesticide shops, we are in the process of finding out where he got it from, said Chavan.
On Friday, Ketan Anuwadia (40) and his wife Keena (37) committed suicide by consuming potassium cyanide after also feeding it to their two children, Devansh (7) and Rishi (10).
In his suicide note, Anuwadia blamed Patel of not paying him Rs 1.35 crore for raw materials that he had sent to the latter. Anuwadia sent 10 copies of this note to his friends and relatives, blaming Patil for their deaths.
The note also said that Patel had no money left even to buy a meal and that he had even tried selling his house but had not been successful.
What has left the police clueless is the origin of the cyanide that the family consumed to kill themselves. Potassium cyanide or hydrocyanic acid (as its known medically), is not readily available, and is mainly used for medical and research work in the laboratory.
We have just handed over the dead bodies of the victims to their relatives and have no idea as to where the family could have procured the cyanide from, said Deputy Commissioner of Police R D Shinde.
Any cyanide can cause death within 15 to 20 minutes. A person consuming a cyanide of a high degree would not live for more than a minute, said Dr Shailesh Mohite, HOD Forensics, Topiwala Medical College of Nair hospital.
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Cyanide is available only with a licensed dealer and can be obtained only by a licensee for a genuine purpose. In India, it is available with dealers who deal in chemicals used in agriculture.
Potassium cyanide is extremely poisonous and can cause death in a few minutes. Its available in two forms in the market in a powder form and in the form of tablets.
Cyanide kills by preventing human cells from using oxygen and thus shutting down the exchange of gases in the cells. Its major effect is on the part of the brain that controls breathing.
If even a small quantity of the compound is swallowed, there is dizziness, headache, palpitation and difficulty in breathing followed by unconsciousness and violent convulsions. But if a patient pulls through these symptoms for at least an hour he survives.
The antidote for cyanide poisoning is a mix of amyl nitrite, sodium nitrite, and sodium thiosulfate. Kits containing these compounds are kept in places where cyanide is used.
Cyanide salts are used to refine silver and gold. It is also used in the photographic industry.
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