A court in Bihar’s Jhanjharpur has sentenced a mother and her partner to death for the murder of her two young children, classifying the crime as falling under the rarest of rare category.
The ruling, issued by District and Additional Sessions Judge-II Abhishek Ranjan, marks the first time capital punishment has been handed down by the Jhanjharpur civil court. Anita Devi and her partner Jai Prakash Mandal were convicted of killing four-year-old Prince Kumar and 18-month-old Srishti Kumari, whom they reportedly saw as barriers to their relationship.
Both were sentenced to death under Section 302 of the IPC and fined Rs 50,000 each. They also received seven years of rigorous imprisonment under Section 201/34 for evidence destruction, plus a Rs 10,000 fine each.
Prosecutors stated that Anita, wife of Pramod Kumar Safi from Narhi village in Madhubani district, left home with her children on July 3, 2023. She and Mandal allegedly planned to remove the children to live together. They took the children near the Balan River, strangled them, and disposed of the bodies in the water. Prince’s body was recovered, but Srishti was lost in the current.
Local residents grew suspicious of the pair near the river, caught them, and handed them to police. An FIR was filed at Ghoghardiha police station on July 10, 2023. Both have been in custody since July 11.
The court, relying on witness statements, circumstantial evidence, and documents, found the pair guilty. It described the mother’s actions as extremely cruel and inhuman, meeting the rarest of rare standard for the death penalty.
The nearly three-year trial concluded with the verdict. The special public prosecutor called it a historic decision that delivers justice in such cases. Defense lawyers accepted the ruling. Many in the court complex welcomed the outcome.
The children’s father, Pramod Kumar Safi, now living in Haryana, said justice had been served and hoped the sentence would be carried out soon. He noted he was unaware of the relationship and learned of the deaths after a search. Though remarried with a young son, he remains affected by the loss.
Under Indian law, the death sentence requires confirmation by the Patna High Court before execution. Court records will now be sent there for review.
