In a deeply disturbing revelation, the Haryana Police have arrested a 32-year-old woman identified as Poonam for the murder of four children—three girls and her own three-year-old son—over the past two years. Police stated on Wednesday that the chilling motive behind the string of murders was the woman’s self-professed “hatred for beautiful girls.”
A Pattern of Drowning to Feign Accidents
In all cases, the suspect’s modus operandi was the same: she would drown the victims in water-filled tubs or tanks to make the deaths appear accidental. The case was cracked following the death of her most recent victim on December 1.
Latest Victim: Niece Killed at a Wedding
Poonam’s latest victim was her six-year-old niece, Vidhi, who had come to Naultha village to attend a family wedding.
- Discovery: The girl went missing on Monday during the wedding festivities. Her body was later found in a storeroom on the first floor of the house, face down in a plastic tub filled with water, with her head submerged and the door bolted from the outside.
- The Act: Panipat Police arrested Poonam, the girl’s aunt, on Wednesday. Police revealed that after the guests had largely left, Poonam lured the girl to the storeroom, asked her to bring a tub of water, and then drowned her before locking the door and returning to the wedding function.
The Chilling Confession and Motive
During questioning, Poonam confessed to the latest murder and revealed a series of previous killings, which had all been passed off as accidents by the families who performed the last rites.
Panipat Superintendent of Police Bhupender Singh stated that the accused appears to be a psychopath. He quoted her as saying, “jo sundar bachhiye hain unse inko nafrat si hai” (She harboured hate for beautiful girls).
The motive was driven by deep-seated jealousy:
The SP quoted the woman as saying that as soon as she saw a beautiful girl, she would get jealous that the child would grow up to be more beautiful than her (“usko chidd machti hai kahi bade hokar issay sundar na ban jaye”).
Timeline of Murders
All four victims were related to Poonam, who is not highly educated and appears to have begun this behavior after her marriage in 2019.
- Early 2023: Poonam drowned her sister-in-law’s nine-year-old daughter, Ishika, in a water tank at their home in Bhawar village, Sonipat.
- Later 2023: Fearing that her own three-year-old son, Shubham, might reveal the truth as he had witnessed the first drowning, she killed him too. Both deaths were accepted as accidental drownings by the family.
- August 2025: She allegedly drowned her cousin’s six-year-old daughter, Jiya, in a water tank at her maternal home in Sewah village.
- December 2025: The murder of her six-year-old niece, Vidhi, led to the investigation that ultimately uncovered the pattern.
The police have ruled out any child sacrifice angle, confirming the motive was strictly linked to jealousy and obsession with appearance. The concerned police stations for the previous untraced deaths have been informed for further action.