New Delhi: A man has been sent to prison for life in Uttar Pradesh after his two daughters testified against him in the murder of their mother six years ago.
On 14 June, 2016, daughters Tanya and Latika watched helplessly as their father Manoj Bansal burnt their mother Anu alive with the help of seven relatives. These family members are also accused in the murder.
Anu’s crime was that she could not give birth to a son, the girls said in a video statement. Manoj apparently grew abusive towards Anu after the birth of the daughters and even forced her to have five abortions.
Tanya, 18, and Latika, 20, were the two main witnesses to the crime and have spoken of the torture their mother suffered in the hands of Manoj, now 48.
Anu died on 20 June, 2016 – six days after she was doused with kerosene and set ablaze.
The two young girls had locked themselves in a room when the carnage took place, and watched their mother burn from a window.
Anu’s mother filed the first information report after the murder, after which Latika wrote to then Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav seeking justice. Some words were even written in her blood.
After a long battle, the girls today are relieved that their father has got his due. In a video statement, Latika called her father a demon. She said: “My mother was murdered by my father only because she did not give birth to a son. My mother raised us with much difficulty and that man burnt her alive. For us, he is just a demon.”
Their advocate Sanjay Sharma said the hearing for the other accused was scheduled in August. “There are seven others accused in the case, who are all Manoj’s relatives. Their cases are pending in the High Court,” he said.
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