Detached, withdrawn, a loner — this is how relatives describe Poonam, the 32-year-old woman arrested in Haryana’s Panipat for allegedly murdering four children, including her three-year-old son, over the past two years.
A homemaker with a masters degree in Political Science from Kurukshetra University and a B Ed from Sonipat, Poonam, as per police, would get jealous of pretty children, thinking that the child would grow up to be more beautiful than her. Poonam’s arrest on December 3 and her alleged confession admitting to the four murders have come as a shock to her family and relatives.
According to Panipat Superintendent of Police Bhupendra Singh, her alleged crimes were committed in three different houses — her maternal home, her marital house, and a relative’s residence. Investigators say that the murders were carried out quietly, in water tanks and tubs, and were initially seen as ‘tragic accidents’.
According to the police, the first two murders took place in 2023 at Poonam’s residence in Bhawad. Her nine-year-old niece, Ishika, and three-year-old son, Shubham, were found dead in a water tank at the house. Investigators say that Poonam first killed her niece by drowning her in a water tank. Fearing that family might suspect foul play if only Ishika was found dead, she drowned her son too, they added.
The third murder occurred in August 2025 at Siwah, Poonam’s maternal home. This time, the victim was Jiya, her cousin’s six-year-old daughter. The child’s death, too, was believed to be a case of accidental drowning.
The fourth murder — the one that led to Poonam’s arrest — occurred on December 1 during a wedding in Naultha village. A relative of her husband, Naveen, was getting married. According to the police, when most guests stepped outside for the wedding procession, Poonam noticed six-year-old Vidhi, daughter of Naveen’s cousin Sandeep, climbing the stairs. The police claim she followed the child to the terrace and then drowned her in a plastic tub filled with water outside a storeroom. She allegedly locked the door from outside before returning downstairs, attempting to blend back into the wedding crowd.
Suspicion arose when family members noticed that Poonam’s clothes and sleeves were wet, the police said.
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When the frantic search for Vidhi ended in the discovery of her body in the storeroom, the situation spiralled into a criminal investigation. Poonam was taken into custody shortly afterwards.
Poonam’s relatives describe her as someone who preferred to stay alone in her room.
