27 February,2016 11:21 AM IST | | Shiva Devnath
Accused, who boarded the Pawan Express from LTT, was held at Manmad station with the help of the stationmaster and local cops
The Khar police on Thursday nabbed the domestic help who had tried to poison journalist Dharmesh Thakkar and his family members. Santosh Bakuram, the help, was produced before a Bandra court on Friday and sent to police custody till March 1.
Also read: Domestic help tries to poison scribe, family
Bakuram confessed to the police that he desperately needed money to repay a loan he had taken
According to Khar police, the accused revealed during interrogation, that he planned two days before to kill the family and was aware of the jewellery and cash kept by Dharmesh's wife Garima. He said he desperately wanted the money to repay a loan. Santosh had also asked one of his friends about procuring the poison, and was told that he would need to obtain a doctor's note for it.
Police said Santosh later got Datura seeds, which are also a kind of poison if given in excess. He got them on his friend's advice and mixed them into the food.
Cop speak
"After going through the CCTV footage at Lokmanya Tilak Terminus (LTT) in Kurla, we saw Santosh boarding the Pawan Express. As per the train schedule it was going to reach Manmad Station, so we informed the stationmaster and local police. With their help we nabbed him," said Ramchandra Jadhav, SPI from Khar police station.
Deputy Commissioner of Police Satyanarayan Chaudhary said, "Santosh was hired by Dharmesh's mother 10 to 15 days ago after he met her outside some temple she had visited for prayers. On interrogation, Santosh, who hails from Bihar, told us that he was in desperate need of R1 lakh to pay a debt. He had taken a loan from someone for his sister's wedding."
The incident
On Wednesday, after Dharmesh Thakkar's actress wife Garima arrived home from work at 9 pm, they and their son Aashray began to have dinner. His brother-in-law, Raghav Goel, joined them later and noticed the daal had an unusual colour. Police said he was suspicious and asked Santosh about it a few times. Santosh did not reply.
Soon Thakkar, Garima and Aashray began to complain of stomach pain. Seeing them rapidly worsen, Goel called for an ambulance. Santosh, however fled the spot.
