A 60-year-old woman and her 26-year-old son were shot dead in Meerut in Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday afternoon. The two were killed a day before they were to appear in court for a hearing into the murder of the woman’s husband in 2016, The Indian Express reported.
Family members alleged that Nichhatar Kaur and her son Balwinder were murdered by the same people who killed her husband Narender Singh in 2016. The incident was captured on a CCTV camera.
The police said the assailants first shot Balwinder in his car as he was leaving home. Meerut Senior Superintendent of Police Manzil Saini said Balwinder was just 300 metres to 400 metres from his house when he was killed.
Minutes later, they walked up to his mother, who was sitting on a bed outside their house, and fired at her point blank. Saini said both son and mother were shot at least six to seven times.
Saini told The Indian Express that the police had arrested one suspect identified as 23-year-old Tarun alias Golu. “He has denied involvement,” the senior officer said. “His motorcycle was found close to the crime spot.”
The police are looking for two more accused – one identified as Maange, who is the elder brother of the man accused of killing Narender Singh, and an unidentified person. Narender Singh’s distant relative Maalu allegedly killed him in 2016 for not supporting him in the panchayat elections.
Saini said an inspector, two sub-inspectors and two constables were suspended for lapses in their investigation. “They should have known that the case was important and sensitive,” he said. “Trouble was brewing in the village but they didn’t have any knowledge.”
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