A trivial dispute between a couple has claimed the life of a 5-year-old after the irate husband fed poison-laced ice cream to his three children, leaving one dead and two hospitalised.

The incident took place in India's southwestern city of Mumbai last Friday. Following a heated argument with his wife, daily wage worker Ali Naushad Ansari, 27, took his children on an outing, on the pretext of buying them ice cream, India Today reported.

The children -- two boys and one girl -- fell sick after consuming the ice cream served by their father, and were admitted to a local hospital. While the five-year-old child died Wednesday, the other two siblings are still under treatment.

"A man gave rat poison to his three children in ice cream after a family dispute. A 5-year-old child, Alishan Muhammad Ali Ansari, died. The other two children, 7-year-old Alina and 2-year-old Armaan, are undergoing treatment and are doing better," police said in a statement, news agency ANI reported.

The accused's wife Nazia Begum has filed a police complaint against her husband. According to her, the couple frequently argued over money-related issues. Following one such spat that happened Friday, she left home to stay with her sister. Her husband then took the children out for ice cream, the woman told the officials.

The accused had been on the run until the police finally apprehended him Wednesday. A case for murder and an attempt to murder has been filed against Ansari.

Last year in March, a woman in the western Indian state of Gujarat fatally poisoned her three-year-old son and herself as she was frustrated with their illnesses. The mother had high blood pressure, while the son had a respiratory condition. Traces of poisonous substance were found in their bodies and strangulation marks were also found on the 3-year-old's neck and face.

Ice Cream
Ice Cream (Representational Image) Photo: Pixabay
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