Son, daughter-in-law, 3 others get life for gunning down elderly couple in Firozabad

Agra: A court in Uttar Pradesh’s Firozabad district sentenced a man, his wife, two brothers-in-law and a friend to life imprisonment for gunning down his elderly parents over property dispute.

District judge Dr Babbu Sarang on Tuesday held Yogesh Singh Yadv (35), his wife Rashmi Devi (33), brothers-in-law Ankit Singh (32) and Sushil Singh (28), and friend Ravi Singh (26) guilty in the sensational May 28, 2023, murder of Rakesh Singh Yadav (58) and his wife, Guddi Devi (55), in Nagla Ramiya village of Firozabad.

The court also imposed fines ranging between Rs 20,000 and Rs 26,000 on the convicts. In case of default, they will have to undergo an additional two months of imprisonment.

District govt counsel Rajiv Upadhayay said Rakesh Singh, originally from Etah district, had settled in Nagla Ramiya nearly three decades ago with his wife and built two houses and acquired agricultural land. Their elder son, Yogesh, a truck driver, frequently quarreled with his parents over property after marrying against the family’s wishes. Yogesh also forcibly occupied one of his father’s houses and was putting pressure on his parents to pay Rs 3 lakh to him, Upadhayay said.

“Fearing for their lives, the elderly couple shifted to a rented accommodation with their younger son Pradeep in neighbouring Etah district. On the day of the incident, the couple had come to the village to collect sharecropping money and lease out their agri fields. While returning on a motorcycle, they were allegedly chased by Yogesh, Rashmi, the two brothers-in-law and Ravi on two bikes. Near Hathauli-Jaisinghpur village, the accused intercepted the elderly couple and opened indiscriminate fire, with 10 to 12 bullets hitting them, killing both on the spot,” the ADGC said.

An FIR was filed under IPC sec 302 (murder), 120 B (criminal conspiracy) and relevant sections of the Arms Act at Eka police station following a complaint by Pradeep. The accused were subsequently arrested, and a chargesheet was filed. The case went to trial when the accused rejected the police chargesheet, saying that the deceased died in a road accident.