In a chilling tale of domestic violence and murder, Ajith Kumar Mupparappu, a pharmacist based in the UK, allegedly plotted to eliminate his estranged wife, Sirisha, her family, and anyone who came close to them. The story begins with a deadly doorstep delivery, a rare poisoning, and a bid to eliminate a family. On July 26, 2023, Bala Sashirekha, in her early 30s, was wheeled into a hospital in Guntur, Andhra Pradesh, suffering from severe diarrhoea, vomiting, and oedema. Her parents had taken her to several doctors over the past week, but no one could put a finger on what had taken hold of her. She was referred to a neurologist, where Dr Vemuri Rama Tarakanath noticed something odd: her fingernails had white lines across them, known as Mees' lines, a tell-tale sign of arsenic poisoning. Dr Tarakanath's suspicions were confirmed when the test results showed arsenic in Sashirekha's body, about 10 times the normal limit. This discovery led Telangana Police to investigate further, uncovering a twisted criminal case. The one who could not get away was Sashirekha's 62-year-old mother-in-law, M Uma Maheshwari, who died on July 5, 2023, a little over a month after her son's marriage to Sashirekha. Her family believed Uma died of natural causes and cremated her, preserving her ashes to honour her memory. However, once Sashirekha was diagnosed with arsenic poisoning, it alarmed M Sirisha, Sirisha's sister and Uma's daughter, who lives in the UK. On August 18, Sirisha approached the Cyberabad’s Miyapur police station and accused her ex-husband of poisoning her mother. What unfolded in a month from then is a detailed plan allegedly hatched by Ajith to kill his estranged wife, Sirisha, her family, and anyone who came close to them. An ‘uneasy’ celebration took place on June 3, 2023, when Sirisha's brother, M Purnender, was getting married to Sashirekha from Guntur. The to-be bride and groom were battling a sense of uneasiness, as other family members had also taken ill, vomiting throughout the day. They brushed it aside as a mere bout of ill-health and got on with their day. The story then delves into Ajith and Sirisha's tumultuous relationship, which began in 2018 when both were divorcees from their first marriages. They connected on a matrimonial portal and tied the knot at an Arya Samaj temple in Hyderabad, with the approval of both families. However, things soon turned sour, with Ajith starting to verbally abuse Sirisha right after they got married. After two months in Hyderabad, they moved to the UK, where Ajith worked as a consultant, and Sirisha took up a job as a general practitioner trainee. In London, Ajith's verbal abuses escalated into physical violence, and he even threatened Sirisha at knife point and brandished a wine bottle, threatening to smash her with it. Ajith also hurt Sirisha's daughter, manhandling her amidst a heated argument with Sirisha. This was the last straw, and Sirisha and her daughter snuck out of the house and went to a friend's place. Ajith began stalking Sirisha, and when he intruded into her flat in August 2022, Sirisha got a restraining order against him from the UK police. She filed for divorce in October 2022, and within two months, Ajith hatched the plan to kill her entire family. Ajith then zeroed in on Hanumantha Rao, Sirisha's father, and devised a plan to poison him using arsenic. Ajith, who flew down from the UK to carry out the plan, allegedly mixed arsenic in salt and chilli powder and got them delivered in a neat package to their home. Rao, unaware of the danger, received the packet without any suspicion. However, Ajith had to wait for a while before his plan kicked into effect, as Uma was away and barely any cooking was taking place at the Raos'. Rao once did rustle up an omelette and fell sick, but he attributed it to regular food poisoning and waited for Uma to come back. On May 20, 2023, Uma returned, and things started to turn. The period between May 2023 and June 2023 saw other members of the family calling on the elderly couple frequently, in preparation of Purnender’s marriage. When the health of everyone at home deteriorated, Sirisha sent water samples for testing, twice, but never suspected that it was the food that was the culprit. Sashirekha and Purnender got married in a small ceremony on June 3, 2023. Days later, Sirisha's mother became severely ill and died at a private hospital in Hyderabad, with cardiac arrhythmia, resulting in severe pulmonary oedema and acute respiratory failure, recorded as the cause. Even after her mother's demise, they kept eating the same poisoned food because they were using the same spices that were tampered with. Most of them developed symptoms of arsenic poisoning without even knowing what it was. On July 20, 2023, Sashirekha fell severely ill but still undertook the journey to her parents' home in Guntur. Her parents consulted Dr Tarakanath, who had never seen a patient with Mees' lines in person before. However, a look at Sashirekha's fingernails took him back to medical school, where he had studied about it years ago. Once he noticed the lines and related symptoms, he ordered an arsenic test on the patient. All other family members also underwent the test, and each of them tested positive for arsenic. The Telangana police now had two key questions at hand: How did arsenic reach the family? And how did Ajith, who lived thousands of kilometres away in the UK, play a part, let alone a leading role, in it? A series of failed attempts followed. When the police started investigating the case, they found multiple call records between Ajith and three of his friends. While following the trio, who had taken a hotel room on rent in Hyderabad, the police learned that Ajith had asked them to inject Sirisha's family members with succinylcholine. If administered, it would have resulted in their immediate death. According to the chargesheet, the police arrested four persons, three of whom were residents of Hyderabad, with vials of the poison, which is difficult to detect during postmortem. But this plan was never executed. Ajith made attempts to kill Sirisha's father multiple times. Early in 2023, he attempted to stage a road accident to kill Rao. He even paid two contract killers a sum of Rs 4 lakh for the job. His next attempt was arsenic poisoning, and the final one was succinylcholine poisoning. When the road accident plot did not go to plan, Ajith took matters in his own hands. Between August 2023 and February 2024, police arrested nine persons, including Ajith’s sister Mupparapu Surekha. Police discovered unusually frequent phone calls between Ajith and his sister in the months leading up to Uma’s death. Soon, they arrived at Surekha’s doorsteps. On questioning, Surekha revealed how Ajith got a food delivery app partner to deliver the poison-laced spices at his former in-laws’ place for a sum of Rs 2,000. Nine of the accused are now behind bars under sections of murder and conspiracy. Ajith, still in the UK, remains absconding for months. Sirisha narrates how difficult it was for her to continue living in London, knowing her ex-husband is not very far away. Ajith is a UK citizen, and blue and red corner notices have been issued to extradite him. The hearing of the extradition plea is expected to be held in the last week of April in a UK court. Ajith is finally arrested by the UK police in Maidenhead, Berkshire, on January 17, 2025. He is remanded by the Westminster magistrate court in London. He petitions against his extradition, stating his “human rights will be compromised once arrested by Cyberabad police”. Further hearing on this petition will take place by April-end. Meanwhile, Sirisha says she is trying to rebuild her life and feels a sense of security now that Ajith is in prison. Her daughter no longer gets nightmares, and everyone in the family is burdened with neurological symptoms of the poisoning even now. The last few years have also ushered in moments of joy for the Rao family. Sashirekha, the young bride whose medical tests revealed the poisoning case, is now pregnant with her second child. They are glad she survived and are happy to welcome two children into the family after being virtually sentenced to death.
