Muzaffarnagar (UP), February 17 A woman was arrested on Tuesday for allegedly killing her four-year-old niece by throwing her into a water tank and stabbing her sister-in-law, who apparently opposed her relationship with a neighbor, police here said on Tuesday.
The incident, which took place around 2:30 am in Basikala village under the Shahpur police station limits, left Firdosh (40) and her three other children with stab injuries, while her four-year-old daughter was killed after she was thrown into the house's water tank, police said.
Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Sanjay Kumar told reporters that the accused, identified as Mana, lived with his sister-in-law Firdosh and had a relationship with a neighbor.
The SSP said the incident allegedly took place because Firdosh opposed the "illegitimate relationship" between her sister-in-law and another man, and had arranged her marriage elsewhere.
The accused, who has been arrested, obtained sleeping pills from a source and managed to administer them to the family during the night before she allegedly went on the stabbing spree.
She took her niece upstairs and threw her into the water tank, killing the four-year-old, the SSP said.
Firdosh's husband, Imran, was not present at home at the time of the incident.
When asked about the role of Mana's lover, the SSP said it was being investigated.
The SSP said the person who procured the sleeping pills for the accused is also under investigation.
Earlier, Shahpur Station House Officer Gajendra Singh told reporters that Firdosh was severely injured while three of her children sustained minor injuries in the incident. The body of the deceased has been sent for postmortem examination.