THANE, 27 JULY

A 27-year-old woman was arrested on Sunday for allegedly killing her three minor daughters by poisoning them after being distressed over domestic issues in Maharashtra's Thane district, police said.

Sandhya Sandeep Bere, a housewife living at Talepada in Asnoli village under Shahapur area, allegedly mixed a pesticide in "varan bhat" (a traditional rice and lentil dish) and served it to her daughters, aged 5, 8 and 10, on 20 July, a senior police official said.

The girls soon experienced health complications, including vomiting and giddiness, and were rushed to a local hospital.

As their condition worsened, two of them were later admitted to a hospital in Mumbai, where they died on 24 July and 25 July. Another girl was shifted to a hospital in Nashik, where she succumbed on 24 July, the official said.

Initially, the Khinavli police registered a case of accidental death.

However, the autopsy report on Saturday night confirmed the presence of poison in the children's bodies, the police said.

Acting swiftly on the crucial evidence, the police registered a case of murder against the children's mother and arrested her around 2am on Sunday, the official said.

The accused had been grappling with domestic issues, including her husband's habit of liquor consumption, as per the police.

She had separated from her husband and was struggling to care for her three daughters, which apparently drove her to the crime, they said.

The woman's in-laws had suspected her involvement in the death of the three children.

She was initially detained for questioning and was arrested after the autopsy reports came in, the police said.

Further probe was on into the case.