The quiet village of Naultha in Haryana was buzzing with the joy of a wedding in December 2025. But beneath the celebrations, a dark history was repeating itself. When six-year-old Vidhi went missing during the festivities, her family found her not in the playground, but in a locked storeroom, drowned in a plastic tub.
Vidhi’s death was the fourth in a series of "accidental" drownings that had plagued one family since 2023. For years, the family attributed the deaths of nine-year-old Ishika, three-year-old Shubham, and six-year-old Jiya to bad luck, supernatural forces, or the "evil eye." It was only after Vidhi was found behind a locked door that the suspicion turned toward one of their own: Poonam, the mother of Shubham.
A Pattern of Jealousy
Poonam, a 32-year-old post-graduate in Political Science, confessed to a motive that left investigators chilled. According to the Haryana Police, Poonam targeted the young girls in her family because she believed they were "more attractive" than her. Her obsession with beauty and a deep-seated jealousy drove her to lure the children into quiet rooms, where she would force their heads into water containers until they stopped breathing.
Disturbingly, she did not spare her own son, Shubham. She confessed to killing him simply to "hide the truth"—reasoning that if her own child also died in an "accident," no one would suspect her of murdering the others.
The Mask of Normalcy
What makes the case of “Psycho” Poonam so baffling is her background. Described by neighbors as soft-spoken and "simple," Poonam was well-educated, holding both a Master’s degree and a B.Ed. Her childhood room in Siwah village lacked even a dressing table; her family claimed she never cared for jewelry or fashion.
Yet, behind this unassuming facade was a woman who allegedly staged supernatural events—setting curtains on fire and claiming to be possessed by occult forces—to distract her husband, Naveen, from the truth of the deaths.
Understanding Filicide
This case has brought the rare and horrifying concept of filicide—the act of a parent killing their own child—into the national spotlight. While NCRB data tracks thousands of crimes against children, the specific psychology of a mother killing out of "beauty envy" is almost unheard of in Indian criminal history. Experts suggest such acts are often driven by deep psychotic distress or twisted delusions of protection and revenge.
As Poonam awaits trial in judicial custody, the family is left to mourn four children whose lives were cut short by the very person they trusted most.
