Lucknow, October 19: A court in Uttar Pradesh has awarded life imprisonment to a 70-year-old woman for "killing" a man who allegedly tried to rape her daughter. Kasturi Devi was 59 when she killed Praveen Kumar on July 31 in 2010. She had surrendered and said that she killed Praveen because he tried to rape her daughter. However, the court, after 11 years, described the incident as "honour killing" and "planned murder". Uttar Pradesh: Two Girls in Relationship Get Magistrate's Permission to Live Together.

In his order passed on October 14, Bulandshahr’s additional sessions court’s judge Rajeshwar Shukla observed that the woman did not have to hit Praveen multiple times in order to stop the rape bid. "Praveen was hit five times near his neck, which caused his immediate death. (If) Kasturi had to stop the rape bid, she didn’t have to hit the deceased so many times as even (a) small force ...could have averted the incident," the court order said. Allahabad High Court Dismisses Plea of Woman in Live-in Relationship Seeking Protection from Husband.

"As the family took the body outside the house and shouted for help after Praveen died, it looks like a planned conspiracy," it added. According to a report by Times of India, Kasturi Devi had reached the Anoopshahr police station in Bulandshahr and confessed to the murder. She had told cops that Praveen, who was then 20 years old, entered their house around midnight and attempted to rape her daughter.

In a bid to stop Praveen, Kasturi Devi had picked an axe and hit him causing his death. Her son and daughter, who had witnessed the incident, maintained that Praveen tried to commit rape and their mother killed him in a fit of rage. Eleven years after the incident, the court found Kasturi Devi guilty of killing Praveen.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Oct 19, 2021 11:41 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).