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According to police officials, the murders resembled natural deaths or accidental drownings, so that his actions went unnoticed until last week.
Suspicion arose during a wedding in Naultha
The matter came to light when on December 1, a six-year-old girl, Poonam’s niece, was found dead in a tub of water at a wedding venue in Naultha village of Panipat. The room where the girl’s body was found was locked from outside, which immediately raised suspicion.
The girl’s grandfather, Pal Singh, a retired sub-inspector, was the first to alert the police. He insisted that the death was not an accident and told authorities that the child had been “deliberately drowned”. His complaint prompted a formal investigation.
Panipat Superintendent of Police Bhupendra Singh said the family was attending a relative’s wedding when they suddenly realized that the girl was missing. “The room where the girl was found dead was locked from outside. The girl’s body was found half submerged in water, leading to suspicion that someone had murdered her,” the SP said.
He further said: “This was the turning point. Their suspicion and insistence led us to reopen the previous deaths linked to the accused,” he was quoted as saying by The Indian Express.
During interrogation, Poonam reportedly confessed that she had previously killed three children: her niece, her son and another child in Siwah village. Investigators said she considered some of the children to be “very beautiful” and did not want any of the children to be “less than” her own.
Police now believe that the three earlier deaths, which occurred between 2023 and 2024, were similar accidental drownings. Neither incident initially raised concerns among the families.
(edited by : Sudarshan Mani,