A shocking case of jealousy and violence has emerged from India, where a woman stands accused of drowning her six-year-old niece during a family wedding celebration. The suspect, identified as Poonam, allegedly committed the act because she felt the young girl, named Vidhi, looked more beautiful than her.
The Wedding Day Tragedy
The incident occurred on Monday, December 1, in Panipat, northern India. Vidhi had attended the wedding festivities with her father, mother, her 10-month-old brother, and her grandmother. During the celebrations, the girl's father received a distressing phone call informing him that his daughter was missing, which prompted an immediate search by family members.
After about an hour of frantic searching, the child's grandmother, Omwati, made a horrific discovery. She found Vidhi's lifeless body in a nearby storeroom, with her head submerged in water. The family rushed the girl to the NC Medical College, but she was pronounced dead upon arrival.
Confession and Gruesome Details
Police swiftly arrested the child's aunt, Poonam. During interrogation, she confessed to the murder of her paternal niece. Superintendent of Police Bhupender Singh provided chilling details of the crime. He stated that Poonam saw the child climbing the stairs and followed her to the terrace to engage her in conversation.
"After having her placed in a plastic tub filled with water outside the storeroom, she drowned the child in the tub, then bolted the door from the outside, and came down," Superintendent Singh explained. The accused allegedly committed the act when all other guests were out of the house.
Poonam's motive, as reported by local media and confirmed in her police statement, was rooted in intense jealousy. She told investigators that "she didn't want anyone to look more beautiful" than her at the wedding. Police further revealed that during questioning, the woman said "she was irritated by beautiful girls."
A History of Horrific Crimes
The investigation took an even more disturbing turn when Poonam reportedly confessed to the murders of three other children. According to police, these previous killings were also carried out by drowning.
The alleged crimes include:
- In 2023, murdering her nine-year-old niece, who was her sister-in-law's daughter.
- Subsequently killing her own son to "avoid suspicion" after the first murder.
- In August of this year, killing a young girl in a nearby town, again because the victim was "prettier" than her.
Tragically, the police revealed that the family had considered these earlier deaths to be accidental. Poonam is said to have "committed these crimes one after the other" without raising immediate alarm. The case has sent shockwaves through the local community and highlights a deeply troubling series of events that went undetected for years.
