Jhansi's Murder Case: 4-Year-Old’s Drawing Exposes Mother’s Alleged Murder By Husband

A four-year-old girl's drawing has raised suspicion that her mother was assaulted and murdered by her husband in Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh, police said, as per the NDTV report. The woman, identified as Sonali Budholia, was found dead at her home in Panchavati Shiv Parivar Colony under the Kotwali area on Monday.

Sonali's in-laws initially informed her family that she had died by suicide. However, a drawing made by her daughter, Darshita, and her statement suggested otherwise. According to the child, her father, Sandeep Budholia, a medical representative, killed her mother and hanged the body to make it look like suicide.

"Papa assaulted and killed mummy. He then said 'die if you want to'. He hanged her body and hit her head with a stone. Later, he brought down the body and put it inside a sack," Darshita told reporters. She later lit her mother's funeral pyre and displayed a drawing depicting the alleged assault.

The child also claimed that her father had threatened her mother before. "I had warned him not to hurt my mother, but he used to beat her, saying she should die. He even said I should suffer the same fate as her," she said.

Sonali's father, Sanjeev Tripathi, a resident of Tikamgarh district in Madhya Pradesh, said his daughter had faced harassment since her marriage to Sandeep in 2019.

"On the wedding day, I gave them Rs 20 lakh in cash as dowry. A few days later, Sandeep and his family demanded a car, but I told them I could not afford it. After that, they started assaulting my daughter. I even approached the police once, and we reached a compromise," he said.

The harassment worsened after Sonali gave birth to a daughter, Sanjeev added. "Sandeep wanted a son. After the delivery, he and his family abandoned her in the hospital. I had to pay the bills and bring her home. Sandeep only came a month later to take her and the child back," he said.

Recently, Sonali attended a cousin's wedding in Samthar, Jhansi. Sandeep called and asked her to return home.

"This morning, I received a call saying my daughter's health had worsened. Soon after, I got another call saying she had hanged herself. When I reached her house, I found out she was dead," Sanjeev said.

Kotwali City Police officer Ramveer Singh said the body has been sent for an autopsy, and an investigation is underway.

"We received a call about the woman's death under suspicious circumstances. Her parents have alleged that she was murdered. The case is being investigated," Mr Singh said.