Haryana serial killer aunt kills 6-year-old niece over 'beauty complex'; eliminates son to avoid suspicion

The probe into the suspicious death of a six-year-old girl in Haryana has led to the arrest of a serial murderer, a middle-aged woman who killed children "beautiful" than her out of jealousy. The woman did not spare even her own son in the killing spree.

According to Haryana police, the accused woman was identified as Poonam, and she killed her niece Vidhi during a wedding celebration in Panipat's Nautha village on Monday. Vidhi has visited the village along with her family to attend the wedding of a relative, police said. 

On Monday, after the wedding procession left the village, Vidhi's father received a phone call alerting him that his daughter was missing. Soon, the entire family launched a frantic search for the six-year-old. Hours later, Vidhi's grandmother, Omwati, found the girl dead in the storeroom at the relative's house. The storeroom door was bolted from the outside and she found Vidhi lying lifeless, with her head submerged in a water tub and feet on the ground, NDTV reported.

Though the family initially thought the death could be accidental, her father registered a complaint with the police, unravelling a series of murders. According to police, the accused thought she could escape from police if she staged the deaths as "accidental". 

Panipat police said Poonam had a disturbing pattern of drowning children. Driven by jealousy and resentment, because she did not want anyone to look more beautiful than her, a senior police official told NDTV.

Poonam allegedly targeted young, pretty girls and killed them all in the same manner. She killed her sister-in-law's daughter in 2023, and to avoid suspicion, Poonam drowned her own son the same year. Earlier this year, Poonam killed a girl from Siwah village, "feeling jealous over her beauty".