Latika (21) and Tanya Bansal (17) of Bulandshahr, Uttar Pradesh, fought a long battle of six years to get justice for their mother, who was burnt to death by their father. The father, Manoj, has now been sentenced to life imprisonment after being convicted of his wife's murder.
“In the year 2016, our father burnt our mother to death. We were locked in a room. We saw our mother burning from the window. People burnt her alive just because she had no son. What was the fault of our mother in this? Mother is the first guru, she was heaven for us. She brought us up…a mother has to bear so much to raise a child, and that man burnt her alive and killed her,” said Latika Bansal.
Latika had written a letter with blood to the then UP chief minister, Akhilesh Yadav, in 2016.
After Manoj's conviction and sentencing, Latika said,
"For me, he is not my father, he is only a devil. We fought a long battle of six years and got justice for our mother. The court has convicted him under section 302 and punished him with life imprisonment as well as a fine of Rs 20,000.”
Latika's lawyer Sanjay Sharma said, “A First Information Report (FIR) was filed against Latika’s father Manoj in the year 2016. In it, Annu Bansal was burnt by her in-laws. Manoj and others were made accused in this case. During the initial investigation, a case under 306 was registered. But later charges under 302 were framed.”
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