Envy Turns Deadly: Haryana Woman Drowns 4 Children, Son Among Victims

December 4, 2025

Panipat : A Haryana woman, identified as Poonam, was arrested Tuesday for murdering four children, including her three-year-old son, reportedly driven by jealousy over their “good looks.” Poonam confessed to police that she felt compelled to kill children she considered more attractive than her own and killed her son fearing he had witnessed one of the murders.

Discovery of Latest Victim

The breakthrough came when six-year-old Vidhi was found dead at a wedding in Naultha village, Panipat’s Israna tehsil. The child’s head was submerged in a tub of water in a first-floor storeroom and was discovered by her mother and grandmother. She was rushed to a nearby hospital, where doctors flagged signs of homicide.

Investigation and Confession

Poonam, Vidhi’s aunt, was questioned by police at the wedding venue. Detectives noticed contradictions in her statements, and under sustained questioning, she confessed to killing not only Vidhi but also three other children, all drowned in a similar manner.

Timeline of Murders

• 2023: Poonam first killed her sister-in-law’s nine-year-old daughter, Ishika, in a water tank at their Bhawar home in Sonipat. Later that year, she drowned her three-year-old son Shubham. Both deaths were initially treated as accidents.
• August 2025: Poonam killed her cousin’s six-year-old daughter, Jiya, at her maternal home in Siwah. That death, too, was initially considered accidental.

Investigators say Poonam followed the same method in all killings, using tubs or water containers inside homes.