GHAZIABAD: A court sentenced four members of a family, including a woman, to life imprisonment on Thursday after finding them guilty of burning a 29-year-old woman alive for giving birth to three daughters in Bhojpur. The court also imposed a fine of Rs 30,000 on each of the accused.The crime took place in Amrala village on August 19, 2016. The victim, identified as Shabana, married Imran, a resident of Bhojpur, in 2010. Her parents-in-law started physically and mentally torturing her after she gave birth to three daughters, as she stayed in their house. Imran, who worked at an automobile company in Gurgaon used to visit home periodically.“On August 19, 2016, Imran was away in Gurgaon. Shabana’s mother-in-law Hazra (51), brother-in-law Afzal (25), and two relatives, Ashu (51) and Babu (48), beat her up and then set her ablaze after pouring kerosene oil on her,” advocate and special public prosecutor (POCSO Act) Ranveer Singh Dagar said.She was admitted to a private hospital in Meerut . In her dying declaration to the nayab tehsildar on August 21, 2016, she said Ashu and Babu assaulted her first and then poured kerosene oil on her. Hazra set her on fire while the duo kept her restrained. Afzal also thrashed her. However, she did not mention Imran in the statement, Dagar said.After Shabana’s father filed a police complaint, an FIR was lodged under sections 307 (attempt to murder) and 498A (husband or relative of husband subjecting woman to cruelty) of the IPC against Imran, Hazra, Afzal, Ashu, Babu and Sheru (Imran’s other brother). A chargesheet was filed against Hazra, Afzal, Ashu and Babu under IPC sections 304B (dowry death), 498A and sections 3 and 4 of the Dowry Prohibition Act.The charges related to dowry, however, were dropped due to lack of evidence as Shabana’s parents turned hostile during the course of the trial. On Thursday, court of additional district judge (ADJ) Kunal Vepa sentenced the four accused to life imprisonment for Shabana’s murder and three years’ jail under Section 498A.

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