On Monday, a court in Gujarat’s Patan sentenced a 28-year-old dentist, Kinnari Patel, to life imprisonment for poisoning her brother, 32 and his 14-month-old daughter out of animosity towards her sister-in-law, and with an eye on her father’s property worth crores.

The court also fined the accused Rs 50,000 and recommended the victim’s wife, Bhumi, be compensated under the state’s scheme.

On May 5, 2019, when they were on the way to their native village, Kalana, Kinnari offered her brother, Jigar, a drink laced with ‘dhatura’ seed extracts. As he fell ill, she forced a cyanide pill into his mouth, according to the prosecution. When he tried to reach for his car key to rush to a doctor, she hid it deliberately, leading to his death. She later dumped the car key in Ahmedabad.

On May 25, she similarly offered glucose water mixed with dhatura seed extracts to her sister-in-law, after which she fell ill and was rushed to the doctor. While she was away, Kinnari used the opportunity to put the cyanide powder into the mouth of her niece, Mahi, killing her.

The Patels are originally from Siddhpur, Kalana. Patel was not on good terms with her brother, as they had a property dispute. Patel’s industrialist father filed a complaint against her, suspecting her hand in the unnatural deaths.

Acting on the father’s complaint, Jigar’s body was dug up and a fresh post-mortem was done. It revealed cyanide poisoning. While Patel confessed to the crime to police, she denied it in court. The court held her guilty based on circumstantial evidence.

However, Kinnari Patel’s lawyer said that they will challenge the decision in the Gujarat High Court.