Woman who drugged, drowned own kids gets death sentence from UP court

Auraiya: A court here has sentenced a woman to death for killing her three minor children by drowning them in the Sengar river in 2024, while her paramour was sentenced to life imprisonment in the case.

The woman's nine-year-old son, who survived the attempt on his life, provided crucial testimony in the case.

Additional Sessions Judge Saif Ahmed on Thursday found Priyanka guilty of murdering her own children and pronounced the death penalty. Her paramour Ashish alias Danny was sentenced to life imprisonment.

During the trial, the government counsel argued that the act of a mother conspiring with her lover to drown her innocent children was "rarest of the rare." The court also imposed a fine of Rs 2.5 lakh on Priyanka and Rs 1 lakh on Ashish. Furthermore, the court ordered that 75 per cent of the combined fine amount be given to Sonu, the surviving child.

According to the police, Priyanka was involved in a relationship with Ashish after her husband's death.

On June 27, 2024, Priyanka along with Ashish took her four sons -- Sonu (9), Madhav (6), Aditya (4), and Mangal (2) -- to the Sengar river bank in Devarpur. They reportedly drugged the children before throwing them into the water one by one.

While locals managed to rescue the eldest boy, Sonu, who regained consciousness and later provided crucial testimony against his mother, the three younger children drowned.

Police arrested both Priyanka and Ashish and subsequently filing a chargesheet against them.

Government Counsel Abhishek Mishra stated that the woman's brother-in-law had filed a complaint against her.