Mumbai: Man, 45, held for killing daughter, 20, with poisoned biryani and strangling in Wadala
Wadala police have arrested a 45-year-old carpenter, accused of poisoning and strangling his 20-year-old daughter after she opposed his plan to remarry.
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The Wadala police in Mumbai have arrested a 45-year-old man, Sharif Raza Hussain Khan, on the charge of murdering his 20-year-old daughter. He is accused of feeding her chicken biryani laced with poison and then strangling her after she opposed his second marriage.
According to the police, Khan is a carpenter and lives in Madona Colony in Wadala East. His wife died of cancer in November 2025, after which he lived with their three children. The elder daughter, Rifat, was 20, the younger daughter is 16 and the son is 10.
It is said that after his wife's death Khan wanted to marry again, but both his daughters were against it. Quarrels broke out at home over the matter. The police allege that after these quarrels, the accused plotted to target both daughters.
According to the allegation, on the night of October 2, Khan brought chicken biryani home, mixed a poisonous substance into it and fed it to Rifat. The same night, the younger daughter felt hot and went to sleep at her aunt's house. She is said to have survived because she was not at home. After eating the biryani, Rifat lost consciousness, and the accused is alleged to have then strangled her to death.
At around 5 am on October 3, Khan went to relatives and said Rifat was not responding, voicing a suspicion of food poisoning. The relatives rushed her to hospital, but doctors declared her dead. The investigation found that a story of food poisoning had been created at the outset.
As the circumstances of the death were suspicious, Rifat's body was sent for postmortem. During the postmortem at KEM Hospital, marks of strangulation were reportedly found on her neck. The report gave asphyxia as the cause of death, after which the investigation gathered pace.
On the basis of the postmortem report and forensic findings, the Wadala police arrested Khan. The court has reportedly sent him to police custody. The police are now examining the use of the poisonous substance, the motive for the killing and other evidence linked to the incident. Investigators are also looking into the circumstances in which it all happened. The incident has caused alarm in the area, and more details are expected to emerge as the investigation proceeds.
