An Araria court awarded the death penalty to 35-year-old Poonam Devi for poisoning and nearly beheading her minor daughter after the child witnessed her with another man. The judge said the crime “shakes the conscience of society” and falls into “the rarest of the rare.”
Mother Sentenced to Death for Killing Daughter: In a shocking case that has deeply disturbed Bihar, the District Additional Sessions Judge-IV of Araria, Justice Rabi Kumar, on Thursday (Nov 27) gave the death sentence to 35-year-old Poonam Devi, holding her guilty of murdering her 11-year-old daughter, Shivani, on the night of 11 July 2023.
The courtroom was full when the judge announced that the manner in which Poonam poisoned and almost beheaded her own child clearly placed the case in “the rarest of the rare” category under Indian criminal law.
According to Govt. Additional Public Prosecutor Prabha Kumari, the case started when young Shivani accidentally saw her mother in a compromising situation with a man from their village. Shocked by what she saw, the child quietly said she would tell her father when he returned from Punjab, where he worked to support the family.
Fearing that her secret would be exposed, Poonam decided to eliminate her daughter.
The APP said:
“The love, affection, and sacred bond of motherhood dissolved and collapsed before the convict’s immoral, unsocial and clandestine lust for her paramour. In this gruesome act, motherhood itself stood defeated and disgraced.”
As per the prosecution, Poonam mixed a highly toxic organophosphorus pesticide into her daughter’s food. When Shivani became unconscious from the poison, Poonam then slit her throat. With help from her lover, she hid the girl’s body in a maize field behind their house.
During the trial, the court examined five prosecution witnesses and 12 documentary exhibits, which included the post-mortem report and the Forensic Science Laboratory’s viscera analysis that clearly confirmed the presence of poison. The court observed that the murder showed extreme brutality and a complete moral collapse by the accused.
Shockingly, none of Shivani’s close relatives reported the crime. Instead, a villager stepped forward as a Good Samaritan and informed the police. On the basis of his written complaint, Narpatganj Police registered the FIR, and the case was sent for a fast-track trial, which concluded with Thursday’s sentencing.
While announcing the punishment, Judge Rabi Kumar said that the horrifying act committed by the mother against her own child “shakes the conscience of society” and therefore deserves the strictest penalty allowed by law.
The case was registered at Narpatganj Police Station (Thana), Araria. The FIR / “थाना कांड” number is 380/2023. The murder-trial (sessions court) case number is 582/2023.
This judgment has once again raised serious questions on increasing cases of family-related violence and the shocking lengths to which individuals go to hide their personal secrets—even at the cost of innocent lives.
Explanatory Legal Table Of All Laws / Sections Used In This Case
| Law / Section | Full Name | Explanation in Simple Words | How It Applies in This Case |
| IPC – Section 302 | Murder | Killing a person knowingly and intentionally. | Poonam Devi poisoned and slit the throat of her 11-year-old daughter, which is intentional homicide. |
| IPC – Section 120B (likely applied due to involvement of paramour) | Criminal Conspiracy | When two or more people plan a crime together. | She and her lover jointly hid the body; this shows conspiracy. |
| IPC – Section 201 | Causing Disappearance of Evidence | Hiding, destroying or manipulating evidence of a crime. | The body was hidden in a maize field to cover the murder. |
| Indian Evidence Act | – | Law for admissibility of evidence. | Post-mortem, FSL viscera report, witness statements were admitted under this Act. |
| CrPC – Section 173 | Police Report / Chargesheet | Police files a complete investigation report before trial. | Narpatganj Police Station filed the chargesheet for fast-track trial. |
| CrPC – Section 309 | Speedy Trial | Court must hold the trial without unnecessary delays. | Case proceeded under fast-track trial rules. |
| CrPC – Sections 235 & 248 | Judgment and Sentencing | Court announces conviction and type of punishment. | Judge Rabi Kumar pronounced death sentence under these provisions. |
| Doctrine of “Rarest of Rare” | Supreme Court principle for death penalty | Death sentence only when crime is exceptionally brutal. | Judge said the manner of murder placed it in “the rarest of the rare”. |
| FSL (Forensic Science Laboratory) | – | Scientific testing for poison, chemicals, viscera. | FSL viscera analysis confirmed organophosphorus poison. |
Case Title
- State of Bihar vs. Poonam Devi
- Sessions Case No. 582/2023
- Araria Judicial Division
Bench: District Additional Sessions Judge-IV, Araria Hon’ble Justice Rabi Kumar
Counsels
For the Prosecution:
- Prabha Kumari, Govt. Additional Public Prosecutor (APP)
For the Defence:
- Not specifically named in the report, but represented by Legal Aid Counsel / Defence Counsel provided in Sessions Trial (common in district courts)
Case Details
| Detail | Information |
| Court | District & Sessions Court, Araria (Judicial Division) |
| Judge | District Additional Sessions Judge-IV, Rabi Kumar |
| FIR / थाना कांड संख्या | 380/2023 |
| Police Station | Narpatganj Police Station, Araria |
| Sessions Case Number | 582/2023 |
| Date of Murder | 11 July 2023 |
| Date of Sentencing | 27 November 2024 (Thursday) |
| Victim | Shivani, 11 years old |
| Accused / Convict | Poonam Devi, 35 |
| Motive | Child saw her mother in a compromising situation with another man and threatened to inform her father |
| Method of Murder | Poisoning with organophosphorus pesticide, then throat slit |
| Post-crime Act | Body hidden in maize field with help of paramour |
| Key Evidence | Post-mortem report, FSL viscera test confirming poison, witnesses |
| Who Reported Crime | A villager acting as Good Samaritan (not relatives) |
| Court Finding | Brutality + betrayal of motherhood = “rarest of rare” |
| Punishment | Death Sentence |
Key Takeaways
- A mother murdering her own child to protect an illicit affair shows how family crimes by women are routinely ignored until they reach extreme brutality.
- No relative reported the murder; only a villager came forward. When women commit crimes, families often stay silent out of fear or social pressure.
- The court had to rely on a Good Samaritan, not the family, proving again how cases against women rarely get reported honestly.
- Even after poisoning and nearly beheading the child, the case moved only because of scientific evidence, highlighting how emotional narratives often shield female offenders.
- The judge calling this the “rarest of rare” reminds society that women are equally capable of violence, and laws must treat all offenders—male or female—with the same seriousness.
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Criminality has no gender; no colour; no age; no time. Double criminality is more despicable. A woman compromising with a stranger is breach of trust. He may not be a stranger to her; being the partner in crime and partner in sex cheating the husband, horrorising the child, vandalising social values and social security. Depth of the effect on social psyche is unfathomamble. Capital punishment; the trial court had only a Hobson’s Choice. Shakespeare’s Lady Macbeth, in that major tragedy, ‘Macbeth ,King of Scotland’, plans the murder of King Duncan and sanewashes her husband. She engeeners several murders and goes mad out of mental derangement. She bemoans in her sleep walk, “Here is the smell of blood still.All the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand. Oh Oh Oh !” Act V, Scene 1. Truth is stranger than fiction. The case at hand which earned hangman’s rope for the murderous criminal looks more strange that a fiction. But rule of law has only one colour and character. And that is patently done by the judge.
Absolutely agree. Crime has no gender, and this case proves it yet again. When the accused is a woman, society hesitates to call out the brutality, but a child lost her life. The court finally acted without bias, and that’s exactly how justice should function.