A 46-year-old man has been arrested in Chhattisgarh’s Balodabazar-Bhatapara district for allegedly murdering eight persons and attempting to murder one by poisoning them at different times between February and June 2026, police said on Tuesday (June 23, 2026).

Ram Sahay Jaiswal, a resident of Kharve village, had allegedly served poison-laced alcoholic drinks to all the victims with a distinct motive for each crime. The accused confessed that he killed the victims due to “old grudges, petty complaints, abuses, character doubts and witchcraft”, said Superintendent of Police O.P. Sharma, adding that all the victims were male, aged 38 and above.

A police statement added that the first of these murders happened on February 6, when the victim, Badri — who had allegedly often harassed the accused with abusive language and demanded liquor — died after consuming liquor laced with borax (poison) by the accused.

It was on June 6 that an application was given to a police official by local villagers regarding the suspicious deaths of eight people in the village on separate occasions from February to May, for which they suspected Jaiswal’s handiwork.

Following this, investigations were taken up.

“The bodies of seven persons were exhumed and sent to Mekahara Hospital in Raipur for post-mortem. At the Medicolegal Institute in Raipur, the DNA, viscera and other samples of all the persons were preserved for forensic examination. Among the deceased, the body of one Budhram Jaiswal was cremated by his family members,” the police statement added.

Mr. Sharma, the SP, said the villagers suspected that Jaiswal was behind the murders because one Kartik, who survived the murder attempt, told villagers that Jaiswal had served him poison-laced drink on April 14, after which he was taken ill. A police team probing the case also learnt that the accused had obtained borax (poison) from someone in the village under the guise of rat poison.

Starting with a dog

Mr. Jaiswal purportedly told the police that he first used the rat poison to kill a dog, after which he committed the first murder.

“After targeting the first victim, the accused Ram Sahay Jaiswal’s confidence grew, and he targeted Buthalu on February 20, 2026,” the SP said.

Owing to some enmity with Buthalu, the accused gave Buthalu alcohol laced with borax, resulting in his death,” he added.