The deaths of three siblings in Punjab, India, initially believed to have been caused by food poisoning, are now being investigated as an alleged murder after their mother was accused of mixing weedkiller into sweets with the help of her alleged lover.
The three children — six-year-old Jasnoor Kaur, five-year-old Armandeep Singh and two-and-a-half-year-old Rehandeep Singh — died under suspicious circumstances on Aug 26.
According to police, the siblings ate sweets bought from a shop for the Raksha Bandhan celebration before their health deteriorated.
Their deaths were initially suspected to be the result of food poisoning.
However, doubts emerged during the investigation after police found that other people who had eaten sweets from the same shop did not suffer any health problems.
Further investigation allegedly revealed that weedkiller had been mixed into the sweets before they were given to the three children.
Senior police officer Ravjot Kaur Grewal said the victims’ mother, Lovepreet Kaur, was allegedly in a relationship with a man identified as Harjit Singh.
Investigators suspect Lovepreet and Harjit met through Instagram before allegedly plotting to kill the three children. Police, however, have not disclosed further details about the suspected motive based on the original report.
The case was opened after the children’s father, who works as a lorry driver, lodged a police report.
Lovepreet has since been detained to assist with investigations, while Harjit remains at large, with several operations underway to locate him.
Police are also conducting forensic examinations on the sweets suspected of being contaminated with poison, along with other materials collected during the investigation, as they work to strengthen the evidence in the case.
