Prateek Tanmay
2 min readJalandharJul 15, 2026 10:21 AM IST
A six-year-old girl died while her mother and two siblings are critical after they allegedly consumed pesticide at their residence in Punjab’s Kapurthala district, police said on Tuesday.
Police have launched an investigation to ascertain the circumstances leading to the incident.
Originally hailing from Katihar district in Bihar, the family has been living in Mallu Qadrawabad village in Kapurthala for 15 years, according to police.
Lavkush Kumar said that he returned home after completing work in the fields at around 11 pm. “I entered the house only to find my wife Santosh Devi semi-conscious and vomiting, and a bottle of pesticide lying close by. Inside the house, our three children were lying unconscious,” Lavkush said.
“I immediately alerted neighbours and called the 108 ambulance service.”
The four were rushed to the Civil Hospital in Kapurthala, where six-year-old Khushi died during the treatment, police said.
Given their critical condition, Santosh, her eight-year-old daughter Amrita and two-year-old son were referred to the Amritsar Medical College for advanced treatment, police said.
According to Civil Hospital sources, the trio are undergoing treatment by specialist doctors, but are still critical.
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Lavkush told police that he was not aware of any known family dispute. “My wife had spoken to my mother over the phone a day ago. I am not sure whether any disagreement ensued during the conversation.”
Station House Officer (SHO) Ranjit Singh said that, according to the preliminary information gathered so far, someone had allegedly discarded an empty pesticide bottle, which was later picked up by the family. The family is suspected to have washed the bottle, filled it with water and consumed the water. Soon after, the woman and the children fell ill.
“The exact sequence of events is still being verified, and all angles are being investigated,” the SHO said.
Police are recording the statements of family members, neighbours and other witnesses to establish the circumstances that led to the incident. Further legal action will be taken based on the findings of the investigation, the SHO added.
