A wave of horror and disbelief has gripped families in Hisar and Sonipat districts of Haryana as a woman stands accused of murdering four young children, including her own toddler son. The relatives of the accused, Poonam, are now re-examining every tragic death that has occurred since she married into the family six years ago, haunted by the possibility of more victims.
A Trail of Deaths Mistaken for Accidents
Police allege that Poonam's killing spree remained undetected for years because the deaths were passed off as tragic accidents. The other three child murders were mistakenly ruled as accidental drownings, with no one initially questioning why such mysterious incidents coincided with Poonam's visits. In a deeply poignant twist to this tale of horror, Poonam's surviving toddler son is now being cared for by Rakhi, the grieving mother of Vidhi, who was Poonam's fourth alleged victim.
Pointing at his wife Rakhi feeding Poonam's son, Rakhi's husband Sandeep captured the tragic irony: "On one side is Poonam, who murdered her own son and my innocent daughter Vidhi. On the other is my wife, who is nursing Poonam's baby." Vidhi's grandparents, Pal Singh and Ommi, affirmed this act of compassion. "The baby is innocent. We will bring him up with care despite what Poonam did," said the grandmother, who was the one to discover Vidhi's body.
The Grisly Confession and a Family's Dark Realizations
The case came to light after Poonam allegedly drowned five-year-old Vidhi in a water tub during a family wedding in Naultha village, Panipat, on the night of December 1. During police interrogation, she reportedly confessed to killing three other children earlier. According to authorities, she stated she felt an urge to murder children she perceived as more beautiful than her own.
Shaken by these confessions, the family is now viewing past family tragedies with intense suspicion. Sandeep alleges that months after Poonam's marriage in 2019, his sister Pooja—an MSc mathematics graduate—suddenly stopped eating and speaking, dying under unexplained circumstances. The family now suspects Poonam's involvement. He also claims his other sister, Pinky, suffered a miscarriage after Poonam fed her something during a visit when she was five months pregnant.
Sandeep recalled earlier red flags, including an incident where Poonam allegedly tried to harm a two-year-old Vidhi by poking her eyes with a pencil and another where she poured hot tea on the child, burning her hands and face. At the time, these were dismissed as accidents.
Deaths That Didn't Raise Alarm
Poonam's husband, Naveen, has described her as "a witch, not a mother." He expressed relief that she was finally caught, noting, "It's so unsettling to think that she would have gone unpunished once again had she not goofed up and locked the room during the latest incident." He was referring to Vidhi's murder, where the child was found dead in a room locked from the outside.
The earlier deaths—the drowning of Poonam's son Shubham and niece Ishika in 2023, and the death of Jiya, daughter of Poonam's cousin, in August 2025—did not initially raise suspicion. A family member revealed that Poonam would pretend to faint and get hospitalized after each death, repeatedly begging for the children to return, an act that successfully diverted attention.
Gohana (Sonipat) ACP Rahul Dev confirmed that another FIR has been registered against Poonam based on Naveen's complaint regarding the deaths of her son and niece. She will be brought to Sonipat on a production warrant for questioning in the presence of a psychologist.
Naveen stated in his complaint that the family had wanted autopsies for Shubham and Ishika, but Poonam threw tantrums and threatened suicide if postmortems were conducted, saying she couldn't bear to see the bodies cut open. Naveen, who supported Poonam through a BEd degree after their 2019 marriage, denied ever taking her to a tantrik and said she frequently quarreled with his family and left for her parental home after arguments.
