Chandigarh, Jan 4: A 19-year-old woman accused of murdering her father walked free after a local court acquitted her, nearly two years after she was sent to jail in connection with the case.
The accused, Asha of Kishangarh village, had been arrested in August 2023 after her father, Sumei Lal, was found seriously injured at their residence. He later died during treatment.
The case rested largely on the testimony of Gulab Singh, a neighbor and auto driver, who initially told police he had seen Asha with her injured father inside the house and claimed she admitted to stabbing him.
Singh stated that he went to Sumei Lal’s house on August 9, 2023, to fetch cold water and found the man lying on the ground, bleeding. He said he helped take the injured man to the hospital with other residents.
During trial, however, the witness retracted parts of his police statement.
“The complainant did not support the prosecution story before the court,” said defense lawyer Gurditt Saini. “There is no reliable evidence to link the accused to the crime.”
Saini also referred to the post-mortem findings, which showed a single stab wound. “The medical evidence does not support the prosecution’s theory of a brutal attack,” he said.
The defense argued that Asha was attempting to control her father’s bleeding when the neighbor arrived and that she accompanied him to the hospital, conduct inconsistent with the allegations.
The public prosecutor maintained that the evidence was sufficient for conviction and said the prosecution had proved the case beyond doubt.
The court, however, disagreed, noting inconsistencies in witness testimony and lack of conclusive proof. It subsequently acquitted the accused, ordering her immediate release.
The judgment ends a trial that saw the teenager remain in custody for more than two years.
