A local court in Uttar Pradesh has awarded the death penalty to a woman for killing her three minor children by drowning them in the Sengar river in June 2024. Her partner, with whom she allegedly conspired to commit the crime, has been sentenced to life imprisonment.

The verdict was delivered on Thursday by Additional Sessions Judge Saif Ahmed, who found the woman, Priyanka, guilty of premeditated murder. Her paramour, Ashish alias Danny, was convicted of aiding in the crime.

The case hinged on the testimony of Priyanka’s nine-year-old son, Sonu—the sole survivor of the brutal incident—who later became the key witness against his mother in court. The judge described the case as falling within the “rarest of rare” category.

The court also imposed fines of ₹2.5 lakh on Priyanka and ₹1 lakh on Ashish. Of the total amount, 75% has been directed to be paid to Sonu.

According to the prosecution, Priyanka had entered into a relationship with Ashish following the death of her husband. On June 27, 2024, she and Ashish took her four sons—Sonu (9), Madhav (6), Aditya (4), and Mangal (2)—to the banks of the Sengar river in Devarpur. The children were reportedly drugged before being thrown into the river one by one.

Local residents were able to rescue Sonu, who later regained consciousness and narrated the horrifying details to the police. His testimony became instrumental in securing the convictions.

Both Priyanka and Ashish were arrested shortly after the incident, and a chargesheet was filed against them. The complaint in the matter had been lodged by Priyanka’s brother-in-law, government counsel Abhishek Mishra informed the court.