Indian woman accused of drowning 6-year-old niece at wedding because child ‘looked prettier than her’

Friday, December 5, 2025 - A woman is accused of drowning her six-year-old niece during a wedding celebration because the child “looked prettier than her.” 

The woman, named Poonam, reportedly drowned her young relative in a tub of water after her family gathered for a ceremony in Panipat, northern India, on Monday, Dec. 1.

The girl, named Vidhi, had attended the wedding with her father, mother, 10-month-old brother and her grandmother. 

Vidhi’s father is said to have received a phone call during the celebrations, informing him that the girl had gone missing. This prompted a family search party. 

After an hour, Vidhi’s grandmother, Omwati, found her de@d in a nearby storeroom, with her head submerged underwater.

She was rushed to the nearby NC Medical College, where she was later pronounced de@d. 

Police arrested Poonam following the de@th and she then confessed to k!lling Vidhi, her paternal niece. 

According to local media, Poonam told police that “she didn’t want anyone to look more beautiful” than her at the wedding. 

Superintendent of Police Bhupender Singh said that according to investigators, the woman committed the crime when all the guests were out of the house.

 Poonam allegedly saw the child climbing the stairs before following her to the terrace and making conversation with her. 

“After having her placed in a plastic tub filled with water outside the storeroom, she drowned the child in the tub, then bolted the door from the outside, and came down,” Superintendent Singh said. 

“During interrogation, the accused woman told the police that she was irritated by beautiful girls.” 

Poonan also reportedly confessed to previously murd3ring another three children, including another niece and her own son, whom she also drowned.

In 2023, the woman allegedly murd3red her sister-in-law’s daughter, 9, before then k!lling her own son to “avoid suspicion.” 

In August this year, she allegedly k!lled a young girl in a nearby town because she was “prettier” than her. 

Police revealed that the family previously considered these de@ths accidental and that Poonam “committed these crimes one after the other.”