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2 children die as mother ‘feeds them poison-laced rasgullas’ in Muzaffarnagar

The Bhopa police said the woman, a resident of Rurkali Talab Ali village, has been arrested while her alleged paramour is on the run.

Mother-poisons-childrenWith her vague replies also arousing suspicion, the police questioned Muskaan and soon she allegedly confessed to having poisoned both the children. (File Photo)

It was a quiet afternoon in Muzaffarnagar’s Rurkali Talab Ali village when the cries of Muskaan, 25, brought neighbours to her house. The woman told villagers that her children Arhaan, 4, and Anaya, 1, had gone to sleep but did not wake up.

Days later, the Bhopa police arrested her for allegedly poisoning the children by feeding them poison-laced rasgullas. They claim that she wanted to flee with her lover, Junaid, who had refused to take the children along. Junaid is reportedly on the run.

According to the police, Muskaan’s husband, Wasim, a welder, works in Chandigarh and had left the village just two days before the incident. On the fateful day, when he called home around 2:30 pm, Muskan answered and told him that the children were lying unconscious.

Alarmed, her husband called his brother, a doctor, who rushed to take stock of the situation but by the time he reached, the kids had already breathed their last, officers said, adding that as neighbours gathered in the narrow lanes of the village, Muskan was seen wailing.

Initially, no one suspected foul play but when investigators asked for her phone, Muskaan told them that it was missing. When the police tried calling the number, the phone was switched off. With her vague replies also arousing suspicion, the police questioned Muskaan and soon she allegedly confessed to having poisoned both the children.

According to Dr Ravi Shanker, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), Bhopa, no one else lived in the house except Muskan and the children. “A case has been filed. The mother has been taken into custody. She was questioned and she confessed,” he told The Indian Express.

Saman Husain is a Correspondent at The Indian Express. Based in New Delhi, she is an emerging voice in political journalism, reporting on civic governance, elections, migration, and the social consequences of policy, with a focus on ground-reporting across Delhi-NCR and western Uttar Pradesh. Professional Profile Education: She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science (Honours) from Kirori Mal College, University of Delhi, and is an alumna of the Asian College of Journalism (ACJ), Chennai. Core Beats: Her reporting focuses on the national capital’s governance and politics. She specializes in Delhi’s civic administration and the city units of the BJP, AAP and Congress. In western Uttar Pradesh, she mostly reports on crime. Specialization: She has a keen interest in electoral processes and politics — her recent contributions include work on electoral roll revisions. Recent Notable Articles (since July 2025) Her recent work reflects a strong show-not-tell approach to storytelling, combining narrative reporting with political and historical context: 1. Politics: “On the banks of the Yamuna, a political tussle for Purvanchali support” (October 6): A report on how migration histories shaped electoral strategies in Delhi before the Bihar elections. “Explained: How Delhi’s natural drainage vanished gradually over the centuries” (September 29): An explanatory piece tracing the historical reasons that eventually led to the erosion of Delhi’s rivers and its impact on perrenial flooding. 2. Longforms “Four weddings, three funerals: How a Uttar Pradesh man swindled insurance companies” (October 7): A long-read reconstructing a chilling fraud by a man who killed three of his family members, including both his parents for insurance proceeds. His fourth wife discovered his fraud… “How Ghaziabad conman operated fake embassy of a country that doesn’t exist — for 9 years” (July 27) : A story on bizarre fraud operation and the institutional blind spots that enabled it. 3. Crime and Justice: “He was 8 when his father was killed. Fifteen years later, in UP’s Shamli, he took revenge” (October 18): A deeply reported crime story tracing cycles of violence, memory and justice in rural Uttar Pradesh. “Who killed 19 girls in Nithari? With the SC rejecting appeals, there are no answers and no closure” (July 31): A report capturing the long legal and emotional aftermath of one of India’s most chilling unsolved criminal cases. 4. Policy Impact “At Manthan, over US tariffs, Delhi-NCR’s apparel industry brainstorms solutions” (September 8) and “Trump’s 50% tariff begins to bite: Agra’s leather belt feels the impact” (August 13) : Reports documenting how global trade decisions ripple through local industries, workers and exporters. Signature Style Saman is recognized for her grassroots storytelling. Her articles often focus on the "people behind the policy". She is particularly skilled at taking mundane administrative processes and turning them into compelling human narratives. X (Twitter): @SamanHusain9 ... Read More

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