Man gets death for killing sister, injuring sis-in-law over property

Agra: An Agra court sentenced a 33-year-old man to death on Tuesday for shooting dead his younger sister and injuring his sister-in-law over a property dispute and a pending rent of Rs 80,000 in 2022.

The court also imposed a hefty fine of Rs 4,20,000 on the convict.According to additional district govt counsel Poonam Gupta, on Nov 26 that year, the convict Lalit Chaudhary shot at his sister Poonam Chaudhary, 27, and sister-in-law Neelu Chaudhary, 34, after seeing them locking their father’s shop, which was at the centre of the dispute. Lalit used to collect a rent of Rs 80,000 per month from the premises. Notably, the dispute over the undivided property started after their father’s sudden death.The incident took place at Bhogipura in Agra’s Shahganj area. After the firing incident, Neelu, a key witness, filed a complaint under IPC sections 302 (murder), 307 (attempt to murder) and the Arms Act at Shahganj.In the complaint, Neelu had stated that Lalit had also stopped “sending her share of the rental income”. When confronted over claim to property and rent on Nov 26, he fired upon the duo. Poonam was struck by two bullets and she died on the spot while Neelu was shot in her arm and was critically injured.

Police arrested Lalit two days later, following a brief encounter. Three charge sheets were thereafter filed. Lalit rejected all the allegations. In his defence, Lalit told the court that he was not present on the spot and was framed to grab their father’s property.The prosecution presented 12 witnesses, including Poonam’s statement, along with technical evidence. After hearing both sides, the court of additional district and sessions judge Mridul Dubey held Lalit guilty. The convict pleaded minimum punishment due to his “young age”; however, the court dismissed his plea and pronounced the death penalty.