Assam woman who drowned minor daughters over family dispute gets life sentence

During interrogation after her arrest, the woman confessed to the crime and said she had also intended to end her own life but survived

A 27-year-old woman from Assam’s Cachar district, who allegedly murdered her two minor daughters by drowning them in a pond following a dispute with her husband in 2023, has been sentenced to life imprisonment by a fast track court.

After the incident in 2023, family members had told the police that the couple had frequent disputes (Representative file photo)

Additional sessions judge (Fast Track Court) Bankim Sharma on Thursday convicted Ajmira Begum Laskar for the murder of her daughters, three-years-old and 10 months old, under Section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

According to police records, the incident took place at Baurikandi Part-1 in Sonai on September 1, 2023, following alleged marital discord between Ajmira and her husband, Babul Haque Laskar, a daily wage labourer.

During interrogation after her arrest, Ajmira confessed to the crime and said she had also intended to end her own life but survived.

“I went to the pond to end all three of our lives. I survived, but my children did not,” she had told the media at the court premises in October 2023.

She told police that she took the children to a pond near their house before dawn, drowned them, and later brought their bodies back into the room.

Babul said the children were immediately taken to Silchar Medical College and Hospital (SMCH), where doctors declared them dead on arrival.

The post-mortem report confirmed that both children died due to asphyxia caused by antemortem drowning, with fluid found in their lungs.

Babul later lodged a first information report (FIR) at Kachudaram police station, following which a case was registered.

After the incident, family members had told the police that the couple had frequent disputes, after which Ajmira had gone to her parental home. She had returned around two weeks before the incident.

During the trial, the prosecution argued that despite claims of distress, the act constituted deliberate homicide. The court, after examining witness testimonies, medical evidence and the accused’s statements, found her guilty and awarded life imprisonment, the prosecution lawyers said.