A 34-year-old woman was allegedly shot dead by her neighbours in Ghaziabad late on Saturday during an altercation that erupted after her brother reportedly urinated in front of their house, police said.
Five people have been arrested and efforts are on to trace the prime accused, who fired at the deceased. The accused have been booked under provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) as well as the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, for allegedly hurling caste-based slurs at the victim’s family, the police added.
According to the police, the two families live about 200 metres away from each other. The incident took place when the deceased – Puja Kumar – was visiting her parent’s house in Loni Border’s Indirapuri.
“At around 10pm, Puja’s brother Aman Kumar urinated near the accused’s house. The accused objected and an altercation broke out between the two sides. Aman was reportedly assaulted by the accused. As Aman returned home and told his family, all of them went to the accused’s house. A fight soon broke out and the prime accused opened fire. Puja sustained a bullet injury on her face. She was rushed to a local hospital in Delhi where she was declared dead,” Ghaziabad Deputy Commissioner of Police (rural zone) Surendra Nath Tiwari told HT.
The victim’s family named seven people, including a minor girl, in their complaint. Efforts are also underway to trace the girl, the police said.
{{/usCountry}}The victim’s family named seven people, including a minor girl, in their complaint. Efforts are also underway to trace the girl, the police said.
{{/usCountry}}In his complaint, Aman Kumar said: “One of the suspects came out of the house and asked me why I was urinating there. He started abusing me and also used caste-based slurs. I apologised to him. Despite that, he assaulted me and kicked me. Then I ran towards my house and told my family. Subsequently, my sister Puja and friend Amit Kumar (26) went to their house to have a talk.”
He continued: “All the accused came out of the house. The prime accused fired a shot that hit the left side of my sister’s face. The suspects also hit Amit on his head with a brick before fleeing the spot.”
HT has seen a copy of the FIR.
The police said the woman and Amit Kumar were rushed to a hospital in Delhi, where the former was declared dead.
“Amit is stable and undergoing treatment. We have arrested five men from Indirapuri, while the prime suspect who opened fire and a minor girl are absconding. Teams have been formed to trace them. An investigation is underway, and any more sections will be added in due course of the investigation,” Amardeep Maurya, Assistant Commissioner of Police of Ankur Vihar and investigating officer in the case, said.
The FIR has been registered under sections 191(2) (rioting), 103(2) (murder), 115(2) (voluntarily causing hurt), 61(2) (criminal conspiracy), 125b (rash and negligent acts endangering life and personal safety of others) of the BNS.