How a Chhattisgarh village uncovered one man connected to eight mysterious deaths
A common pattern linked all eight deaths that stunned Kharve village in Chhattisgarh's Baloda Bazar district. Each victim had reportedly shared a drink with local
A common pattern linked all eight deaths that stunned Kharve village in Chhattisgarh's Baloda Bazar district. Each victim had reportedly shared a drink with local grocery shop owner Ramsahay Jaiswal, 46, shortly before collapsing. Investigators claim Jaiswal laced bottles of locally brewed liquor with a potent rat poison named Suhaga, killing the victims within minutes of consuming the alcohol, according to an Indian Express report. He was arrested on June 22 in connection with the eight deaths that allegedly occurred between February and May. According to police, the deaths initially escaped suspicion because they appeared to be natural. No postmortems were conducted, with doctors in several cases attributing the fatalities to causes such as heart attacks. It was only after villagers noticed a disturbing pattern that investigators began treating the deaths as suspected murders. Kharve, a village of around 1,000 residents on the banks of the Mahanadi river, had witnessed eight unexplained deaths in just five months. The victims included Badri Patel, Buthalu Sahu, former sarpanch Chhaturam Sahu, Budhram Jaiswal, Vinod Sahu, Gajanan Manjhi, Chaituram Sahu and Mahetru. Most were in their 50s and, according to investigators, were regular drinking companions of Jaiswal. Deaths in Chhattisgarh's Kharve The first death was reported on February 7, when 58-year-old Badri Patel returned home after drinking with Jaiswal. About two hours later, his daughter found him lying motionless on a cot in the courtyard. Doctors attributed the death to a heart attack.
Also Read | Chhattisgarh Captain Amandeep sets CCPL ablaze with back-to-back tons in season 3 "My father and Ramsahay were childhood friends. My father used to keep money with Ramsahay for safekeeping and asked for it whenever he needed it. Even now I don't know why he did it," Patel's son Vikram said. Over the following weeks, Buthalu Sahu, Chhaturam Sahu and Budhram Jaiswal also died under similar circumstances. Harish, son of former sarpanch Chhaturam Sahu, said his father had returned to the village for Buthalu Sahu's funeral and met Jaiswal for drinks beforehand. "He had not been staying in the village and had come back for Buthalu Sahu's funeral. He went for a drink with Ramsahay, then went to oversee food preparations for the funeral when he felt queasy. He lay down and was dead by the time we took him to the hospital," he said. Suspicion deepened after the death of 38-year-old Vinod Sahu on March 31. Unlike the earlier victims, Vinod was relatively young and healthy. His family said he had gone to the Mahanadi for his usual morning bath before meeting Jaiswal for drinks. He died about 15 minutes after returning home, the report noted. According to a lawyer familiar with the case, Vinod had told someone earlier that morning that he had purchased locally brewed liquor for Jaiswal and planned to drink with him. The succession of deaths unsettled the village.
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