Woman killed over dying phone battery

Refusing to allow a youth to recharge his cell phone proved fatal for a woman in Uttar Pradesh’s Hathras district, about 400 kilometers from here, when angered over her refusal, the youth and some others beat her to death.

The shocking incident occurred at Basgoi village in the district on Monday evening.
According to reports, Rajkumari Devi was alone at her home when a youth, identified only as Pappu of the same village, entered the house saying that he wanted to recharge his cell phone. He told the woman that there was no electricity at his house.
She, however, refused to allow him to recharge the mobile saying that she was alone at home and asked him to come after the other members of the family arrived, reports said.

Pappu left after her protest but returned a little later with three others. They thrashed Rajkumari with sticks inflicting serious injuries. She was taken to hospital but she succumbed to her injuries on Tuesday. An FIR has been lodged against four people, police said. They have launched a manhunt for the culprits.

In a similar case earlier in the state, a woman was killed in Aligarh when she rebuked her neighbour for objecting to the dress worn by her daughter. The woman’s daughter Gunjan used to wear jeans. The neighbour was infuriated when Gunjan’s mother warned her not to pass comments about that. She and her family members attacked Gunjan’s house, killing her mother.