Punjab Newsline | Sangrur
A woman has been arrested in Sangrur for allegedly poisoning her three children with pesticide-laced sweets, with police suspecting that the crime was linked to her alleged affair with a man she met on Instagram.
The accused, identified as Lovepreet Kaur, reportedly came in contact with a youth from Fazilka through Instagram around six months ago. According to police, their relationship later turned into a romantic affair, and Lovepreet allegedly met him on several occasions by making excuses to leave home.
Police said the woman was allegedly planning to leave her family and elope with her lover. During questioning, however, she reportedly claimed that she only wanted her children to fall ill so that her husband would remain occupied looking after them while she could leave with her lover. Investigators have expressed doubts over this explanation.
According to the police investigation, the incident took place on August 28, on Raksha Bandhan. Lovepreet's sister-in-law and her husband had brought sweets to the house. After they left, she allegedly mixed pesticide kept at home into the sweets and fed them to her three children.
The children soon fell seriously ill and were referred to PGIMER Chandigarh. Five-year-old Armandeep Singh died during the night of August 29-30. The family reportedly performed his last rites without a post-mortem examination.
On September 2, six-year-old Jasnoor Kaur also died. The youngest child, two-and-a-half-year-old Rehandeep Singh, succumbed during treatment at PGIMER Chandigarh on September 11.
After the deaths of the three children, police intensified their investigation. Samples of the sweets were sent to a laboratory for examination. Suspicion deepened after investigators found that children from another family had also consumed sweets from a separate box but remained unharmed.
The post-mortem findings reportedly confirmed that two of the children had died after consuming a poisonous substance. Investigators subsequently focused on the possibility of involvement from within the family.
The children's father, Kulwinder Singh, and mother, Lovepreet Kaur, were questioned separately. During the investigation, police allegedly found evidence pointing towards Lovepreet's involvement, following which she was arrested.
Police have registered a case against Lovepreet Kaur and her alleged lover, Harjeet Singh, under relevant sections, including murder. Harjeet Singh is currently absconding, and police teams are conducting raids at possible locations to trace and arrest him.
