Woman arrested for drowning niece who ‘looked prettier than her'

A woman has been arrested in Haryana’s Panipat in India for allegedly murdering her six-year-old niece during a wedding for looking 'prettier than her', police said.

Authorities claim she later confessed to killing three other children in separate incidents over the past two years.

Police claimed that the woman was obsessed with 'pretty' children.

The accused, identified as Poonam, is alleged to have drowned her niece, Vidhi, in a water tub at a relative’s house in Naultha village, Israna area, according to NDTV.

Vidhi, who lived in Sonipat, had come with her family to attend the wedding. Around 1:30 pm, after relatives left with the wedding procession, the girl was reported missing.

An hour-long search led to her being found in a storeroom on the first floor of a relative’s home, with her head submerged in water.

She was immediately taken to a hospital, where doctors pronounced her dead. Vidhi’s father subsequently filed a police complaint alleging murder.