Rat poison in food: Punjab mother serves slow death to 2 kids; held

BATHINDA: A woman from Phulewala village in Bathinda has been accused of killing her eight-year-old daughter and six-year-old son by allegedly mixing rat poison in their food over some weeks.

Jassi Kaur, in her mid-30s and married for nearly 10 years, was arrested on Saturday after she confessed to the murders, said Rampura Phool DSP Manoj Kumar.Kumar said Jassi's husband, Budh Singh, told police that the family initially did not suspect foul play when their daughter, Sukhpreet Kaur, died two weeks ago after what appeared to be a stomach infection. Ho wever, when their son, Fatehveer Singh (6), died on Friday night with similar symptoms, he grew suspicious and informed the police. The DSP said Jassi has admitted to conspiring to kill the children with her paramour, Lakhi Singh, and her sister, Mota Kaur. Police arrested Jassi and Mota on Saturday. Lakhi Singh, a resident of Mehal Kalan in Barnala district, is absconding. In his complaint, Budh Singh, a labourer, alleged that he had suspected his wife of having an illicit relationship but had remained silent for the sake of the children. "When my daughter died, I had no idea about the conspiracy behind it.

But when my son died in a similar manner within 14 days, I became suspicious," he said on Saturday. A case of murder has been registered against the three at Rampura Phool police station. The postmortem is expected on Sunday.