Woman, husband arrested for poisoning 4-year-old to death in Andhra Pradesh

The accused woman, who is an Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA) worker, had allegedly given snacks to the child at an Anganwadi centre.

A four-year-old child died after he was allegedly given snacks laced with poison by a woman in Andhra Pradesh’s Prakasam district, police said on Monday.

Police arrested V Jyothi on a complaint by parents of the child that she killed him due to old enmity. The incident occurred in Pidathalapudi in Chimakurthi block.

The Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA) worker had given snacks to Dhananjay at an Anganwadi or child care centre in the village on Friday. Two days later, the boy died at a hospital in Guntur.

Jyothi went to the centre and gave snacks allegedly laced with rat poison to the child when the ‘aya’ (helper) had gone out for some work and the centre in-charge was away in Chimakurthi for a meeting.

The boy started vomiting and was rushed to a hospital in Ongole town. As his condition deteriorated, he was shifted to government-run hospital in Guntur town where he died on Sunday.

The child’s parents and relatives staged a sit-in at the police station, demanding justice. They alleged that Jyothi murdered the boy due to enmity.

Police arrested the accused and her husband Sreenu.