New Delhi, June 28 -- A common pattern linked all eight deaths that stunned Kharve village in Chhattisgarh's Baloda Bazar district. Each victim had reportedly shared a drink with local grocery shop owner Ramsahay Jaiswal, 46, shortly before collapsing. Investigators claim Jaiswal laced bottles of locally brewed liquor with a potent rat poison named Suhaga, killing the victims within minutes of consuming the alcohol, according to an Indian Express report.

He was arrested on June 22 in connection with the eight deaths that allegedly occurred between February and May.

According to police, the deaths initially escaped suspicion because they appeared to be natural. No postmortems were conducted, with doctors in several cases attributing the ...