New Delhi, February 11 – A 72-year-old man has been arrested for allegedly killing three people here by feeding them "ladoos" laced with poison, claiming they would bring "dhanvarsha" (a windfall), police said on Wednesday.
The accused, Kamruddin alias Baba, a resident of Firozabad in Uttar Pradesh, was operating so-called "tantric" centers in Loni and Firozabad, and was wanted in two murder cases registered in Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.
"He was apprehended following a thorough 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.
Sharma explained that Kamruddin lured his targets by promising them a windfall of around Rs 2-3 crore in exchange for Rs 2 lakh through "tantric" rituals. After gaining their trust, he allegedly administered poison mixed in the ladoos, made them consume liquor and soft drinks, and then fled with their money after 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 had been taken out of the vehicle by passersby, and a woman lying inside the car.
"All three were taken to the Sanjay Gandhi Memorial Hospital, where doctors pronounced them 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 victims 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.
The families of the deceased ruled out suicide and expressed suspicion about the circumstances of their deaths, prompting police to launch an investigation.
Police said that technical surveillance and analysis of call detail records revealed that all three were in contact 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 up Kamruddin around noon, and he was in the car a few minutes after the vehicle came to a stop at 3:02 pm.
Police found that another 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 that 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 ladoos laced with poison and accompanied the three in a car from Loni to Delhi. During the journey, he offered them liquor, cold drinks and the poisoned ladoos 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 that 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.
