Pune court gives woman double life term for killing her two young children

A sessions court in Pune has sentenced a 28-year-old woman to double life imprisonment for the murder of her two young children. A fine of Rs 10,000 was also imposed. The verdict was delivered by Additional District and Sessions Judge S. B. Bhansali.

The convicted woman is Poona Sanjay Solanki, a resident of Merikheda village in Harsud tehsil of Khandwa district, Madhya Pradesh. She was accused of strangling her three-year-old daughter and two-year-old son with a rope. She then allegedly dumped both bodies in a grassy patch near the house and left.

The incident took place on January 5, 2022. Her husband, Sanjay Solanki, subsequently lodged a complaint at Paud police station.

According to the prosecution, the woman often neglected the children and beat them over petty matters. Her husband repeatedly asked her not to raise her hand against them. But whenever he objected to her behaviour, she would flare up. The couple allegedly quarrelled often over how the children were being raised.

After killing the children, Poona is said to have gone to stay with her brother in Lonavala. With his wife and children missing from home, the husband phoned his brother-in-law to ask whether they had reached him. During this conversation, the brother-in-law allegedly told Sanjay that his sister had killed both children and dumped the bodies in the nearby grass.

The investigation was initially led by the then police inspector Ashok Dhumal. He has since died, and his testimony could not be recorded. Police constable Sanjay Shendge of Paud police station then deposed in court on the basis of the investigation documents.

Along with double life imprisonment, the court imposed a fine of Rs 10,000. On default, she must serve an additional simple imprisonment of five months for each default. For destroying evidence, the woman was also sentenced to three years of rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs 2,000. The court ordered that all the sentences run concurrently.