Bihar: Woman kills two children after heated argument with husband in Aurangabad

The incident occurred on December 8 at Pathra village under the Khudwa police station area, and the woman was arrested on Monday.

A woman was arrested on Monday for allegedly poisoning and killing her two minor children following a verbal altercation with her husband in Aurangabad district, the police said.

Representational image.

The incident occurred on December 8 at Pathra village under the Khudwa police station area, and the woman was arrested on Monday.

The children, aged eight and six, fell ill after consuming sweets and later died during treatment, the police said. Their mother, Sanyukta Devi, wife of Ravi Bharti, initially lodged a complaint alleging that unknown persons had poisoned her children, following which an investigation was launched.

However, as police could not find any evidence of enmity or motive involving an outsider, suspicion turned towards family members. During interrogation, the woman’s statements were found to be contradictory and suspicious.

On sustained questioning, she confessed to the crime, and told investigators that her husband worked as a labourer in another state and that the couple had frequent domestic disputes. On the day of the incident, she had a heated argument with her husband over the phone.

In a fit of anger, she decided to kill herself and her children and allegedly mixed sulphas, a pesticide used to protect grains from insects, in laddoos. She consumed the sweets herself and also gave them to her children while other family members were away harvesting paddy, police said.

However, since the woman did not exhibit any symptoms of pesticide consumption, police grew suspicious of her claim and arrested her for the murder of her children.

She was later sent to jail, Khudwa station house officer Sushil Kumar said.