A day after a popular folk singer was shot dead outside her house in Greater Noida, her sister said the killers did not bother to target her or the driver who were with the victim at the time.
The 22-year-old singer, who went only by the name Sushma, was killed by two bike-borne assailants as she was stepping out of a vehicle at her residence in Greater Noida’s Mitra Society Tuesday evening.
“We were returning from Bulandshahr and around 8 pm… Sushma stepped out for a minute and was behind the car when two people stopped in front of us. They took aim and shot her once, then paused. And then shot her again three-four times. It was evident they had come for her since they did not attack me or the driver. They raced their bike away and I could see Sushma lying in a pool of blood as I stepped out. It happened in a couple of minutes, but it was enough to kill her,” said Sushma’s younger sister Sonu, also a singer.
The murder came a month after another alleged attack on Sushma. According to her family, a man identified as Pramod had attacked her in Bulandshahr after he promised to take her to an event to perform. At the time, the family had alleged that Pramod paid her Rs 12,000 to perform at a religious function but assaulted her on the way to the venue. A police case was filed in Bulandshahr at the time, though the family could not attribute a motive to that attack. Both sisters had gone to Bulandshahr to follow up that case when they were attacked.
“We are exploring several theories; the previous incident is also under the scanner. CCTV footage from outside the house has been submitted to us. Prima facie it appears there could be personal enmity which led to the murder,” said Ranvijay Singh, SP Rural, Gautam Budh Nagar.
Hailing from a Bulandshahr village, Sushma had been singing folk songs for the past 10 years. She was well versed with classical music and her songs depicted rural themes. She and Sonu would often feature together in videos for songs written and composed by them. One such song has over 80 million views on YouTube.
Sonu said Sushma would be invited to perform at musical and religious functions around thrice a week. The two lived together in Greater Noida after Sushma divorced four years ago.
According to sources, one theory police are exploring is a professional rivalry since Sushma had attracted a fan following in the region. A relative said Sushma also had political ambitions. She was also embroiled in a land dispute in her native Nekpur village with a former pradhan, police said.