Mumbai 'Watermelon' Deaths: She Updated Her Diary At Night. By Morning, An Entire Family Was Gone

A family of four from Pydhonie in south Mumbai died within 12 hours of consuming a late-night watermelon on April 26. Abdullah Dokadia, 40, his wife Nasreen, 35, and their daughters Ayesha, 16, and Zainab, 13, were all dead by morning. For weeks, the watermelon was the only lead investigators had. Now, that too is gone.

The fruit has been formally ruled out as the cause of death. Five relatives who dined with the family earlier that same night — and shared the same meal — have reported no health issues. Whatever killed the Dokadias was not on the dinner table.

Police are now entirely dependent on forensic test results to identify any chemical that may have caused the deaths, while simultaneously exploring multiple angles — including the possibility

of a suicide pact.

Was The Family In Financial Trouble?

Police say no. Abdullah ran a mobile accessories shop in Andheri and the family earned rental income from a property they let out. There was no apparent financial strain — ruling out, for now, the theory of a family head driven to desperation.

Could Their Health Conditions Explain It?

Abdullah had kidney issues. Nasreen suffered from thyroid. But investigators told The Indian Express neither condition was serious enough to push the family toward any extreme step.

Siblings living in the same area described the couple as fun-loving people who took the lead in planning family gatherings. Nothing, on the surface, was wrong.

Was Someone Slowly Poisoning Them?

Police explored the possibility of microdose poisoning — a method where a relative administers poison in small quantities over time to avoid suspicion. But investigators ruled it out. “All four would not pass away on the same day,” an officer was quoted by IE, adding that the cause “seems something more immediate.”

What Did The Daughter’s Diary Say?

This is perhaps the detail that lingers longest. One of the daughters kept a diary. Her last entry, dated April 25 — the night before the deaths — recorded that she had exercised at home. No mention of fear. No mention of conflict. No farewell. Just a girl who worked out, had watermelon with her family, and never woke up.

Police are now banking entirely on forensic results to identify any chemical that may have caused the deaths, while also exploring the possibility of a suicide pact — a theory that, given the diary, feels deeply unsettling.