Occult practitioner arrested for ladoo poison deaths

A 72-year-old occult practitioner has been arrested for allegedly killing three people here by feeding them poison-laced “ladoos” in the name of performing a ritual promising “dhanvarsha”, a windfall, police said on Wednesday.

Accused Kamruddin alias Baba, a resident of Uttar Pradesh’s Firozabad, was operating so-called “tantric” centres in Loni and Firozabad, and was wanted in two murder cases registered in Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.

“He was apprehended following a detailed technical and field investigation. He was involved in a well-planned conspiracy to eliminate the victims and rob them of cash and valuables,” Deputy Commissioner of Police (Outer) Sachin Sharma said.

The officer said Kamruddin lured his targets by promising them a windfall gain of around `2-3 crore in exchange for `2 lakh through “tantric” rituals. After gaining their confidence, he allegedly administered poison mixed in ladoos and made them have liquor and soft drinks, before fleeing with their money once they fell unconscious.

“The case came to light on February 8 when a PCR call was received at the Paschim Vihar East police station regarding three people, including a woman, lying unconscious in a car,” the officer said.

A police team rushed to the spot and found an elderly man in the driver’s seat, another man who was taken out of the vehicle by passersby and a woman lying inside the car.

“All three were shifted to the Sanjay Gandhi Memorial Hospital, where doctors declared them brought dead. During the inspection of the vehicle, police found liquor bottles, soft drink bottles, empty glasses, mobile phones, cash, helmets, jackets, Aadhaar cards and other personal belongings and documents,” Sharma said.

The three were identified as Randhir (76), a resident of Baprola, Shiv Naresh (42), a property dealer from Nagli Dairy, and Laxmi (40), a resident of Jahangirpuri, he said. The family members of the deceased ruled out suicide and expressed suspicion over the circumstances of their deaths, prompting police to initiate an investigation.

Police said technical surveillance and an analysis of call detail records revealed that all three were in touch with Kamruddin in the days leading up to the incident and had visited Loni first on the day before the incident and then again on the day they were found dead.

The victims picked Kamruddin up around 12 noon and he was in the car a few minutes after the vehicle got stationary at 3:02 pm.

Police found that one more person was in the car when the three were returning to Delhi.

“Further analysis established that the person was Kamruddin, who had boarded the vehicle in Loni and later, abandoned it at the place where it was found,” the officer said.

The DCP said that after he was apprehended, Kamruddin tried to mislead the investigators but failed to provide satisfactory explanations about his movements.

On sustained questioning, he disclosed that around two months ago, Laxmi was introduced to him through Salim, a resident of Jahangirpuri. Laxmi subsequently introduced Shiv Naresh and Randhir to him.

Police said Kamruddin convinced the three victims to perform a special “pooja” for “dhanvarsha” and instructed them to arrange Rs 2 lakh in cash, along with liquor and soft drinks, for the ritual.

On the day of the incident, he allegedly prepared poison-laced ladoos and accompanied the three in a car from Loni to Delhi. During the journey, he offered them liquor, cold drinks and the poisoned sweets as part of the “ritual”.

“According to his disclosure, the victims started feeling unwell after consuming the poison-laced ladoos and drinks and eventually, lost consciousness. He then took the cash and fled,” the officer said.

Police said evidence corroborated Kamruddin’s presence in the car at the relevant time. CCTV footage obtained from the route, electronic surveillance and the location data also supported the sequence of events reconstructed by the investigators.

The officer said Kamruddin is a habitual offender and was previously involved in two murder cases in Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.

“He was earlier booked in 2014 under sections 143, 363 and 302 of the IPC at the Raja Khera police station in Dholpur in Rajasthan. He was also named in another FIR in 2025 under sections 103(1) and 123 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita at the Makhkhanpur police station in Firozabad in Uttar Pradesh,” the officer added.

A case has been registered at the Paschim Vihar East police station.

Further investigation is in progress to identify any possible accomplices.