Believing that the spirit of a God resided in her body, a woman in her late 20s allegedly murdered two of her daughters, aged six years and six months. (Representational image)
Believing that the spirit of a God resided in her body, a woman in her late 20s allegedly murdered two of her daughters, aged six years and six months, in west Delhi’s Zakhira on Friday, police said. The woman, Suman alias Leelavati, smothered them to death by lying down on them, police said. According to police, the woman was “suffering from a psychotic episode” and was in a “confused state of mind, when she was brought in for questioning”. Police have so far denied reports that she murdered her children on the orders of a local quack.
“So far it seems that the woman is mentally unwell. We have found that she was suffering from mental illness and was completely incoherent and confused during questioning,” Deputy Commissioner of Police (west) Vijay Singh said, adding that she will be referred to a psychiatrist. Police said the murders came to light on Tuesday afternoon, after the woman and her husband called police themselves and informed them about the deaths. The girls’ bodies were taken to Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Hospital.
“No bodily injuries were found on the girls. During preliminary medical examination, doctors were informed by the family that the children had no history of medical illness,” said a police officer. Police said the woman has a third daughter, who was staying at a neighbour’s house at the time of the murders. While the woman worked as a domestic help, her husband is a mechanic.
The woman’s family had discovered her illness after they noticed erratic behaviour about three years ago. However, she never sought medical help. “The family never took her to a hospital. She consulted local quacks and ‘godmen’ in the locality for her condition, which kept getting worse,” said a police officer.
After the murders, police initially suspected sexual assault as well. However, during questioning, the woman told them she was in a confused state of mind and that she had smothered her children to death. “We kept asking her why she killed her children. She would just reply: I don’t know. She kept saying that the spirit of Jagdamba resided in her,” the officer said.
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