Santacruz resident Kajal Shah, who is accused of killing her husband, took the help of her paramour Hitesh Jain to procure arsenic and thallium from two suppliers and used the heavy metals to first murder her mother-in-law Sarla Devi in August, suspect the Crime Branch. She then used the same chemicals to poison her husband Kamalkant Shah, who died on September 19 due to multiple organ failure. Jain is in the business of stationery and gift items and knows a few pharmacists. He got the chemicals, saying they were needed for medicine, said a source. 

Officers from Crime Branch’s Unit 9 said Shah’s post-mortem report from JJ hospital pointed to foul play. The report, which came on September 20, read, “Opinion reserved pending an accessory examination report in a clinically diagnosed case of poisoning.” Officials wanted to register a murder case the same day as Shah’s family members had raised suspicion over Kajal’s involvement, but could not move in that direction as they had no evidence.