Panipat's "Killer Mom" Recorded Children Dancing Hours Before Drowning Them

Poonam, the Haryana woman who allegedly killed four children (three young girls and her son) over the past few years, had recorded a video of two of them - including her four-year-old son - dancing in a house, hours before the sinister act.

The clip, which was recorded in 2023, showed her son, Shubham, and nine-year-old Ishika - child of her sister-in-law, jumping and dancing on a bed to a song. Poonam can also be heard cheering them on. Hours later, she drowned Ishika in a water tank in Sonipat's Bhawar village. Poonam then killed her son the same way - which the police believe was meant to be a macabre red herring, a ruse to convince those suspicious of her after the first murder.

Poonam's third victim was eight-year-old Jia.

Earlier this week, Poonam killed another child, six-year-old Vidhi - her niece. Officials said that Poonam had tried to kill Vidhi in 2021 by pouring a large kettle of boiling tea on her face, but she survived that. On Monday, Poonam allegedly drowned the girl in a tub of water in a storeroom of a relative's house at where the extended family had gathered to celebrate a wedding, and left the body to be found by the child's grandmother. Vidhi was rushed to the NC Medical College, where the doctors declared her dead. Her grandfather, Pal Singh, later registered a First Information Report (FIR), alleging that she was murdered.

Poonam was arrested this week when she allegedly confessed to the murders.

Cops believe that Poonam committed the crimes due to a 'beauty complex' and specifically targeted young and pretty girls. She had a disturbing pattern of drowning her nieces, driven by jealousy and resentment, because she did not want anyone to look "more beautiful" than her, they said.

"Poonam had a beauty complex and, because she was jealous, she killed my daughter. She should be given the death penalty. We don't know how many kids would have died (if she had not been caught). Now, if she gets the chance, she might attack my son as well," Vidhi's father, Sandeep, told NDTV.