Mother and lover jailed for life in 2021 poisoning death of 3-year-old son

A Sessions Court in Ahmedabad has sentenced a woman and her lover to life imprisonment for poisoning her three-year-old son and secretly burying his body in 2021. The court said the crime was carried out so the child would not come in the way of their extramarital relationship.

Principal District and Sessions Judge Hemang R Shavle, in a detailed 94-page judgment, called the murder “heinous” and underscored the need for exemplary punishment to deter similar crimes.

The court found Jyotiben alias Sandhya Ajay Magabhai Parmar and her lover, Bhupendra alias Bharat Ganpatbhai Parmar, guilty after examining forensic reports, postmortem findings, witness testimonies, and other evidence. Both were awarded the maximum penalty of life imprisonment.

According to the judgment, the accused deliberately mixed an organophosphorus poison, Chlorpyrifos, into milk with biscuits and gave it to the child, Yuvi. The boy died of poisoning-induced cardiac and respiratory failure.

The court further remarked that cases of family members murdering their own kin are on the rise and said the offence was comparable to the script of a “horrifying and heart-wrenching” Hindi film.

Prosecution sought death penalty in case

Public Prosecutor Bhavesh S Patel argued that the case fell under the “rarest of the rare” category and demanded the death penalty. He stressed that a mother facilitating the poisoning of her own child was socially disturbing and warranted the harshest punishment.

The court, however, chose life imprisonment, agreeing with the prosecution on the gravity of the crime but declining to impose the death penalty.

Background: Yuvi fell ill after poisoned milk

Yuvi’s father, Ajay Magabhai Parmar, a resident of Ratilal’s Chali in Naroda, Ahmedabad, was married to Jyoti. The couple had one son, Yuvi. Over time, Jyoti developed an affair with Bhupendra, a resident of Palanpur, and would frequently meet him despite opposition from her family.

On August 6 2021, Yuvi suddenly fell seriously ill and was admitted to Sharadaben Hospital’s ICU in an unconscious state. Two days later, on August 8, he died. Initially, the death was presumed to be natural.

Suspicion arose after Jyoti’s family confronted her. She allegedly confessed that she had accompanied Bhupendra to Nageshwar Guesthouse with Yuvi on the day of the incident. There, Bhupendra allegedly brought milk with biscuits laced with poison and made the child consume it.

Following the confession, Ajay lodged a police complaint at Naroda Police Station against his wife and her lover.

Forensic tests confirmed presence of Chlorpyrifos

Yuvi’s body was buried in his native village, Vaghda. Later, based on growing suspicion, the police exhumed the body and conducted fresh panchnamas. Forensic experts collected viscera samples during the second postmortem.

A report from the Directorate of Forensic Science (DFS) confirmed the presence of Chlorpyrifos in the samples. Medical opinion concluded that Yuvi’s death was due to poisoning, resulting in cardiac and respiratory failure.

Chlorpyrifos is a pesticide that has been widely used in agriculture to control pests on crops such as cotton, rice, maize, and fruits. Many countries have now banned or severely restricted it because of its toxicity.

In humans, it attacks the body’s nerves and stops muscles, including those used for breathing and the heart, from working properly.”

Verdict upheld by weight of evidence

The prosecution presented 18 witnesses and 28 documentary pieces of evidence. Accepting these, Judge Shavle sentenced both Jyotiben and Bhupendra to life imprisonment.