The Allahabad High Court has acquitted a woman, who was sentenced to death for killing her three children, observing that the prosecution has failed to establish her guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
The court found that the testimony of the eight-year-old surviving child witness suffered from “irreconcilable contradictions” and exhibited “clear hallmarks of tutoring”. A gram pradhan took him home where he narrated the incident following which the pradhan informed the police, according to Sonu. He had also stated that Manish, the first informant, was his uncle, and he had told him about the incident, and he had got the FIR lodged.
It was alleged that they attempted to drown all four children, but Sonu, the eldest, survived while the other three died. Priyanka had taken her four sons to a bridge over the Sengur river at around 5 am in collusion with Ashish, with whom she had an illicit relationship, and wanted to get rid of the children so that they could continue their relationship, according to FIR.
The high court acquitted both and directed that they be released forthwith, if not wanted in any other case. appellant-Ashish had been given life imprisonment While appellant-Priyanka had been sentenced to death by the trial court. The case is related to the death of three children, Madhav (6), Aditya (5) and Mangal (4) whose bodies were recovered from the Sengur river in Auraiya on June 27, 2024.
