Khagaria, Jan. 19 (PTI): Two minor girls died and another fell seriously ill after their stepmother poisoned them at Baltara village in Khagaria district.

Paura police station in-charge Ram Nath Soren said Runa Devi, the stepmother of the girls — Lakshmi (6), Saraswati (8) and Sweta (2) — had laced their meal with pesticide last night following a quarrel with the girls’ mother. Lakshmi and Saraswati died within hours of eating the meal. Sweta was rushed to a nearby hospital where her condition was stated to be critical, he said.

The bodies of the deceased have been sent for post-mortem. The stepmother later confessed to her crime and was arrested, Soren said.