By IANS,
London: A British court Thursday ordered an Indian-origin woman, who was arrested after a counter-terrorism operation Sunday, to stand trial after she was charged with attempting to murder her mother — a magistrate — with poison, media reported.
Kuntal Patel, 36, a bank worker, is accused of spiking her mother’s soft drink with abrin, a substance described as “much more poisonous than ricin”. Her mother Meena Patel, 54, allegedly drank the substance but survived, The London Evening Standard reported.
Abrin strikes at the liver, stomach and kidneys and is potentially fatal.
The suspect was arrested following a tip-off about toxic chemicals at her home.
She appeared at Westminster magistrates’ court, where district Judge Jeremy Coleman refused to grant her bail.
“I send this case to be dealt with at the Old Bailey and you will be produced at that court on the morning of February 21,” Judge Coleman told the woman.
“I have listened to an application for bail made on your behalf and I am not prepared to grant you bail.”
The employee of Barclays Bank in Canary Wharf has said the substance was intended for a suicide bid which she later abandoned.
She faces the count of attempted murder under the provisions of the Criminal Attempts Act 1981.
Specialist officers in breathing gear and protective clothing spent four days searching the 450,000-pound terrace home in Park Road, Stratford, which she shared with her mother who sits on the bench at Thames magistrates’ court.
Officers also combed the back garden, while neighbours’ bins and a nearby skip were searched. Two other homes in south London were also searched by officers as part of the investigation.