UP: Woman lawyer brutally murdered in Etah district

AGRA: More than a month after UP bar council chairperson Darvesh Yadav was shot dead in Agra court premises by her colleague, another woman lawyer was brutally murdered as an assailant pumped nearly half a dozen bullets in her face in Uttar Pradesh's Etah district on Tuesday.
Nutan Yadav (35) -- an assistant prosecution officer of additional chief judicial magistrate (ACJM) I Jalesar court -- was found shot dead on her bed.

The matter came to light on Tuesday morning at around 9:20am after her maid Sangeeta found her in a pool of blood and alerted police.

A resident of Kushalpur village under Barhan police jurisdiction in the Agra district, the victim was living alone in a government accommodation inside Etah police line extension premises for the last one year.
"Nutan's body was found inside her room on the first floor of government's flat. Her autopsy report confirms that she was shot five times including one on face and four on the right side of torso. Prima facie it seems to be a cold-blooded murder. There was no evidence of rape attempt," Etah superintendent of police Swapnil Mamgain said.
According to an FIR filed by the victim’s younger brother Raghvendra Yadav, “Nutan was shot dead by Dhanpal Yadav and his associate Bharat Singh. Both the accused hailed from Kushalpur village.”
“Dhanpal Yadav had been friends with Nutan for the last 15-years and would often visit Nutan in my absence at the government accommodation. Recently, Dhanpal came to know about Nutan's impending arranged marriage, after which he had threatened her to kill if she tied knot with anyone else,” read the FIR.
The FIR further stated that, “On Monday evening, Dhanpal had asked Nutan’s maid Sangeeta to take an off while Dhanpal’s associate Bharat Singh had asked me (Raghvendra) on phone as to when I would return to Etah (Nutan’s residence).”
It’s important to note that Nutan’s brother Raghvendra had left for Agra on Saturday evening for some personal work.
Etah SP Swapnil Mamgain said, "The brutal act of murder was probably executed by someone very close to victim. Police team is scanning CCTV footage of nearby buildings to ascertain who visited Nutan on Monday evening. The team is also going through victim’s call record to connect the dots of the murder mystery.”
Only families of Etah police live in the police line extension premises. Nutan's flat is a stone throw away from UP 100 office and Mahila police station.
"We have recovered five 32 bore bullet cartridges from the incident spot, but surprisingly no one seemed to hear the shots. Nutan's neighbours have no idea when the incident happened. Our assumption is that the killer shot her dead from point blank range and the jumbo size cooler of Nutan's flat might have suppressed the bullet sound by its heavy fan movement sound," added SP Etah.
After the incident, a forensic team collected fingerprint samples and other crucial evidences. The body was sent for autopsy, where a panel of doctors conducted the post-mortem and video recorded it.
Ashok Kumar, station house officer of Etah Nagar Kotwali, said, "Nutan's family has alleged that a family friend Dhan Pal has killed her. Our team is now searching for him and his associates."
Nutan was a daughter of Agra-based lawyer Jagdish Prasad Yadav. She was preparing for higher judicial services.