Mother sentenced to death for murdering minor daughter in Bihar’s Araria

Calling it “rarest of the rare”, the sessions court sentenced Poonam Devi to death for the brutal murder of her minor daughter on July 10, 2023

A 35-year-old woman was sentenced to death by a local court in Bihar’s Araria district on Thursday for murdering her 10-year-old daughter in 2023.

The court said the sentence will not be executed till the decision was upheld by the high court. (Representative file photo)

Calling it “rarest of the rare”, the sessions court sentenced Poonam Devi to death for the brutal murder of her minor daughter on July 10, 2023.

While pronouncing the verdict, the additional district judge (ADJ) said the heinous act committed by a mother against her own child “shakes the conscience of society” and warrants the severest punishment under law.

The court said the sentence will not be executed till the decision was upheld by the high court. The death sentence was given under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), rigorous imprisonment for a term of seven years and a fine of ₹50,000 under Section 328 of IPC, rigorous imprisonment for a term of five years and a monetary fine of ₹10,000 under Section 201 and to undergo additional rigorous imprisonment of 18 months.

The case was registered in Narpatganj police station on July 10, 2023 on the basis of the statement of chowkidar Bhagwan Kumar.

In the first information report (FIR), the complainant said that Poonam’s husband Chandan Singh had gone to Punjab to earn a livelihood. Thereafter, Poonam developed a relationship with another person called Rupesh Singh. On June 21, 2023, Poonam’s daughter came to know about the alleged relationship.

On July 10, 2023, Poonam brought pesticide along with fish from a nearby market, cooked it and fed it to her daughter making her unconscious. After this, Poonam slit the throat of her daughter with the help of her alleged partner, hid the body in a maize field behind the house.

“Fearing exposure and terrified of the consequences, Poonam resolved to silence her daughter. The love, affection, and sacred bond of motherhood dissolved and collapsed before the convict’s immoral, unsocial and clandestine lust for her paramour. In this gruesome act, motherhood itself stood defeated and disgraced,” the Additional public prosecutor Prabha Kumari, representing the government, said.

Police filed a chargesheet against the accused September 22, 2023. The court then took cognizance of the murder case against the accused on October 19, 2023.

With this, charges were framed against the accused on December 23.

The trial court recorded statements from five prosecution witnesses and examined 12 documentary exhibits, including the post-mortem report and the forensic science laboratory’s (FSL) viscera analysis confirming the presence of poison.