Depressed Mother Poisoned Minor Children, Kills Herself

A 30-year-old woman who was depressed after her husband's death allegedly poisoned her two minor daughters before killing herself. The incident took place in the western Indian state of Maharashtra on Saturday, police said early Monday.

Local police said one of the daughters died, while the other was in a serious condition at a hospital.

The woman, identified as Ruksana Dandva, had four daughters. Police said she was apparently suffering from depression after her husband killed himself by hanging last month. On Saturday, when two of her elder daughters went to school, the woman gave some poison-laced food to the other two children and then consumed the rest herself, local media India Today reported.

The woman and her three-year-old daughter died, the other child, who was eight months old, survived but was in a critical condition, officials said. The two other children were kept under the care of their grandparents.

Police filed a case and said they were investigating the incident. Other details remain unclear.

In a similar incident that took place in the eastern Indian state of Odisha, a woman killed herself after poisoning her son and daughter. The woman reportedly mixed poison with food and gave it to her eight-year-old son and five-year-old daughter. She later consumed it too. While the woman died, the two children were admitted to a hospital and received treatment.