Water poisoning case at Surat diamond unit: Staffer admits to throwing insecticide packet in water cooler
Updated: Apr 12th, 2025
The mystery has finally been solved in Surat’s water-poisoning case where a total of 118 workers were admitted to a hospital after drinking water from a water cooler.
It was eventually revealed that a 28-year-old employee, Nikunj Devmurari—who was the first to report an insecticide packet in the water cooler—was, in fact, the one who had placed it there.
During police interrogation, it was revealed that Nikunj Devmurari, nephew of manager Haresh Lashkari, had joined Anabh Gems in September 2021.
He managed the books of accounts in the company. He was involved in the online trading of grains and pulses.
He had borrowed ₹10 lakh from friends for the business, which had become a debt.
Due to this, he decided to die by suicide on March 31.
He bought a packet of Celphos insecticide powder from Kirti Medical located in Sarthana.
However, he did not dare to take the extreme step and wandered around with the packet for nine days.
On Wednesday morning, when he arrived at work at Anabh Gems, he approached the water cooler intending to mix Celphos powder into the water and consume it in an attempt to kill himself. However, as a co-worker approached, he panicked and threw the packet of Celphos into the cooler. Shortly afterwards, he realised and cried out, alerting others of the situation.
The police have since taken him into custody and are conducting a thorough investigation.
All affected 118 workers were immediately taken to the hospital for treatment. Six of them are currently under intensive care (ICU).
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