9 sentenced to life term for murdering woman over land dispute in UP's Etah

Etah (UP), Jul 10 (PTI) A court in this Uttar Pradesh district has sentenced nine people to life imprisonment in a case involving an old land dispute that resulted in the murder of a woman.

The case originated in Athaiya village under the Kotwali Dehat police station area.

On November 15, 2016, Suresh Chandra filed an FIR against 14 people, stating that he had a longstanding dispute with one Laturi over a farm boundary. On the day of the incident, Laturi's group allegedly ambushed the complainant's son, Dinesh, on the road. Dinesh managed to escape and reached home but shortly after, the accused, armed with weapons, attacked their house.

According to Chandra, the assailants opened indiscriminate firing with the intent to kill. A bullet struck his wife, Tulsa Devi, in the neck, leading to her death on the spot. Other family members who tried to save the woman were also allegedly beaten up and subjected to firing.

During the police investigation, the names of four accused were dropped due to a lack of evidence. A chargesheet was filed against the remaining 10 accused, one of whom died during the trial.

District and Sessions Judge Dinesh Chand convicted the remaining nine accused -- Harveer, Ramniwas, Premchandra, Hakim Singh, Ramnaresh, Rakesh, Ramveer, Rambhajan alias Pappu and Kaptan Singh, court sources said.

The court found all the accused guilty of murder, attempted murder, rioting and under Arms Act charges and also imposed a fine of Rs 59,000 each on them. PTI COR CDN RC