Lucknow: A fast-track court in Sultanpur on Thursday sentenced two men to life imprisonment for the murder of 17-year-old BSc first-year student who was allegedly tied up and set ablaze at her home in 2020 over a land dispute between two families.The court also imposed a fine of Rs 50,000 each on the two convicts.The girl was allegedly killed after the father of one of the accused died in an altercation with the girl’s father over a land dispute.The verdict was pronounced by Fast Track Court-II judge Swatantra Prakash. The convicts, Subhash Singh Chauhan (36) and Jaikaran Chauhan (32), were sent to life imprisonment under the charges of Section 302 (murder) of the IPC along with Rs 50,000 fine.Additional district government counsel (criminal) Sanjay Singh said 12 witnesses were produced in the case during the trial.Jaikaran is unmarried, while Subhash is married and has a son and a daughter. According to the prosecution, their bail applications had repeatedly been rejected by the High Court — three times in Jaikaran’s case and four times in Subhash’s case. Both were arrested on Sept 24, 2020.On Sept 21, 2020, the girl was alone at her house in Tadasa village. Her mother had gone to meet her husband, who was lodged in jail at the time.Subhash Singh Chauhan, Jaikaran, Mahant and Jagannath allegedly entered the house, tied the girl’s hands, legs and mouth and set her afire after pouring kerosene on her.She suffered severe burns and was taken to the community health centre in Dhanpatganj. During a statement recorded before a magistrate, she named Subhash Singh Chauhan, Jaikaran and Mahant.As her condition deteriorated, she was shifted first to Sultanpur district hospital and subsequently to Lucknow, where she died during treatment.The proceedings against another accused, Jagbaran Yadav, were put on hold following a stay order from the high court.Another accused, Mahant, remained absconding for long and was arrested from Delhi Bazar in July 2026, after which he was sent to jail. His trial is being conducted separately.Shraddha’s father was serving a jail term at the time of her death. He was released on parole the following day to perform her last rites.The girl’s father said that he owned around three bighas of agricultural land, which the accused wanted to take over.He said a dispute had taken place on June 8, 2020, when he was cultivating the land. During an altercation, Kunwar Singh, Subhash Singh’s 70-year-old father, died.A murder case was subsequently registered against the girl’s father and 29 others, in connection with Kunwar Singh’s death.The prosecution later linked the dispute to the circumstances surrounding the girl’s killing.
