Jhansi:

An illustration by a four-year-old girl, whose mother was found dead in Uttar Pradesh’s Jhansi on Monday, has raised suspicion that the woman was assaulted and murdered by her husband, after years of alleged harassment, the police said. 

The incident, which took place at Panchavati Shiv Parivar Colony under Kotwali area of ​​Jhansi, came to light when the 27-year-old woman’s in-laws told her family that she died by suicide. A drawing and a statement of the woman’s daughter, however, suggested that she was killed by her husband, and her body was hanged to make it appear as a suicide.

The woman was identified as Sonali Budholia and her husband, a medical representative, as Sandeep Budholia. Their daughter’s name is Darshita.

“Papa assaulted and killed mummy. He then said ‘die if you want to’. He hanged her body and hit her head with a stone. Later, he brought down the body and dumped it inside a sack,” Darshita, who later lit the pyre, told reporters, as she showed a drawing of the purported assault. 

The child also alleged that her father had threatened to kill her mother earlier. “I had told him once that if you touch my mother, I will break your hand. He used to beat her, saying she should die and that I should meet the same fate as her,” she said. 

Sonali’s father Sanjeev Tripathi, a resident of Tikamgarh district in Madhya Pradesh, said she and Sandeep got married in 2019 but have since shared a troubled relationship.

“On the wedding day, I gave them Rs 20 lakh in cash as dowry but days later, Sandeep and his family began making new demands. They wanted a car. I told them it is beyond my means to buy them a car. He and his family then started assaulting my daughter. I even approached the police over this once and we had arrived at a compromise,” he said.

The situation, however, worsened after Sonali gave birth to a girl, Sanjeev said. “Sandeep wanted a boy. After the delivery, he and his family left my daughter alone in the hospital. I had to go to the nursing home to complete the payment. I took her home. Sandeep came a month later to receive Sonali and Darshita,” he said. 

Sanjeev said recently, Sonali was attending her cousin’s wedding in Jhansi’s Samthar when Sandeep called and asked her to return home. 

“This morning, I got a call, saying my daughter’s health has deteriorated. After some time, I received another call, saying she hung herself. As soon as I reached there, I learnt that she was dead,” he said. 

Kotwali City Police officer Ramveer Singh said the body has been sent for an autopsy and the report is awaited.

“We got a call about the woman’s death at her husband’s house under mysterious circumstances. Her parents have alleged that she was murdered. We are probing the case,” Mr Singh said.

(With inputs from Vinod Kumar Gautam)

Sambhal:

The Uttar Pradesh power department has fined a former district president of the Samajwadi Party Rs 54 lakh in connection with an electricity theft case, an official said on Friday.

The case against Firoz Khan was registered on October 20 in Sambhal, Executive Engineer Naveen Gautam of the power department said.

“During an inspection on October 20 in Pakka Bagh, Hayatnagar, electricity theft was detected at Firoz Khan’s private office,” he said.

Consequently, an FIR was filed against Firoz Khan under Section 135 of the Electricity Act, 2003, at the Anti-Power Theft Police Station, he said.

“The investigation revealed there had been no metre installed since 2012, and there was no valid electricity connection. After approval of the inspection report, a penalty of Rs 54 lakh has been imposed,” Gautam said.

Firoz Khan has been sent a notice to present his case within 15 days.

“I have a generator, which is the source of electricity,” Firoz Khan had told PTI on October 21.

“This case has been filed due to political motives to entangle me under false charges,” he said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Lucknow:

Uttar Pradesh on Thursday received Rs 31,962 crore advance installment from the central government, the largest share among all states, as part of tax devolution ahead of the festive season.

The central government disbursed Rs 1,78,173 crore in tax devolution to the state governments.

According to an official statement, the central government’s allocation is intended to bolster the economic stability of the states ahead of the festive season.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath expressed his gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the financial support.

“Heartfelt gratitude to Hon. PM Shri @narendramodi Ji and @FinMinIndia for the timely release of Rs 31,962 crore to UP as part of tax devolution. This advance instalment will significantly boost our festive season preparations and accelerate development and welfare initiatives across the state. Together, we are building a stronger and more prosperous Uttar Pradesh,” Adityanath wrote on his social media account X.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)