There are seven other defendants in the case, all of whom are relatives of the defendant.
New Delhi:
On June 14, 2016, two young sisters helplessly watched as their father along with several relatives burned their mother alive in their home in Uttar Pradesh. They have seen their mother tortured for years, for being unable to bear a son.
Manoj Bansal, 48, was sentenced to life in prison by a court in Bulandshahr on Wednesday. The testimony of his two daughters nailed his faith.
Tanya and Latika Bansal, now 18 and 20, say they are relieved that their six-year legal battle has ended in retribution for their father.
“My mother was murdered by my father because he couldn’t bear a son. My mother raised us very hard and that man burned her alive. To us, he was just a child. After a 6 year war, my sister and I were locked in a room and we were witnesses to how my father and others buried my mother”, Latika said in a video statement.
Their mother, Anu Bansal, married Manoj Bansal in 2000. After having two daughters, she was forced to have five abortions because her husband wanted a son. She was abused by her husband and relatives many times. On the night she was set on fire, her daughters were locked in their rooms. She died of severe burn injuries six days later, on June 20, 2016.
Their grandmother, Anu’s mother, filed a FIR in the case. Latika also wrote to the then UP Minister, Akhilesh Yadav, begging for justice. Parts of that letter were written in her own blood.
“We didn’t say anything to him but he taunted us when we were led away and said – you have to feel good now,” Latika said as she watched her father’s sentencing.
“Following a police investigation, the police denied the charge of ‘aiding suicide’ rather than murder, but we fought this in court and the court restored the murder charge. in the case,” said Sanjay Sharma, Anu Bansal’s mother’s lawyer. daughter said in a statement.
According to the lawyer, there are seven other defendants in the case – all of whom are relatives of Manoj Bansal.
