On December 1, 2025, during a wedding in Naultha village, Panipat, a six-year-old girl named Vidhi was tragically drowned by her aunt, Poonam, aged 34.
The incident sent shockwaves through the family and community, revealing a disturbing pattern of violence by the accused.
Police arrested Poonam, originally from Siwah village, Panipat, and now married into Bhawar village in Sonipat, following the discovery. The accused confessed to having murdered three other children, including her own three-year-old son, over the past two years, motivated by jealousy over the children’s looks, particularly their beauty.
She reportedly targeted any young, pretty girls in the extended family whom she felt outshone her appearance.
Authorities have taken Poonam into custody after presenting her before a court, as ongoing investigations aim to uncover further details and motives behind the horrifying acts.
The Unfolding of the Horrific Crime
The murder of Vidhi unfolded during what should have been joyous wedding festivities. According to police reports, Vidhi, who had come to the wedding with her parents and grandparents, was last seen climbing the stairs to the roof of the house.
Poonam reportedly followed her and engaged Vidhi in friendly conversation, gaining her trust. Once Vidhi stepped into a plastic tub filled with water kept in the storeroom, Poonam drowned her by forcing her head under water.
She then locked the door from outside and rejoined ongoing celebrations as if nothing had happened. The child’s disappearance raised alarm, and a search ensued that led to finding her body in the tub.
Despite emergency medical efforts, Vidhi was declared dead at the NC Medical College. Her grandfather subsequently lodged an FIR, triggering a thorough police investigation that uncovered the gruesome truth.
A Pattern of Jealousy and Violence
Further inquiry by the police revealed Poonam’s chilling confessions of killing four children in total. Besides Vidhi, she admitted to drowning her three-year-old son Shubham in 2023, along with two nieces-one aged nine and another six-over the past two years.
The nine-year-old niece, Ishika, was drowned in a water tank at Bhawar village, Sonipat, while the six-year-old cousin was killed in Siwah village in August 2025. The police noted Poonam’s motive as deep-seated jealousy and hatred towards children she deemed more beautiful than herself.
Experts involved in the investigation have suggested the accused might be suffering from severe psychiatric issues.
Police Superintendent Bhupender Singh described Poonam as harbouring a pathological hatred specifically for “beautiful girls” in her family, ruling out any ritualistic motive and focusing instead on psychological factors.
Community Trauma and Calls for Awareness
The revelation of this calculated killing spree has stunned the closely-knit rural communities of Panipat, Siwah, and Bhawar villages. Families are grappling with the shock, mourning the loss of young lives so brutally taken amidst celebrations meant to unite them.
The case has raised awareness of the urgent need for mental health support and monitoring within households, especially in rural settings where such troubled behaviour can remain hidden under the guise of family discord or unexplained accidents.
Local authorities and social workers are examining how neighbours and relatives can better identify warning signs and act earlier to protect vulnerable children from harm.
This case also highlights gaps in community vigilance during family gatherings, a time when emotions and tensions sometimes rise but must be managed carefully.
The Logical Indian’s Perspective
This harrowing story underscores a deep societal failure to address mental health issues and foster environments of empathy within familial relationships.
The Logical Indian reiterates the need for compassion, proactive mental health care, and conflict resolution rooted in peaceful dialogue rather than violence. Such cruelty, driven by envy and untreated psychological distress, inflicts lasting scars on families and communities alike.
Building stronger support systems, open communication, and awareness can help prevent hidden traumas the kind that led to Poonam’s tragic actions.
