In yet another attack on woman lawyers in western Uttar Pradesh, State government counsel Nutan Yadav was shot dead at her official residence in Etah on Monday night.
Ms. Yadav, 35, hailed from the Berhan area of Agra district and was posted as assistant prosecution officer at Jalesar court in Etah district.
The police said preliminary investigation revealed that she was shot five times from close range.
There were four bullet marks on the face and one on the chest.
Official residence
Etah Additional Superintendent of Police Sanjay Kumar said: “Yadav was staying at her official residence opposite the Police Lines. She was unmarried and staying with her brother. On Monday night, she was apparently alone. The body was first seen by Yadav’s maid on Tuesday morning and she called the neighbours.”
Mr. Kumar said her family members have lodged an FIR against two persons who are distant relatives of the family.
“We have registered an FIR against two persons under Section 302 of the IPC and two teams have been formed to nab the culprits.”
On the lack of security in a supposedly protected area, Mr. Kumar said prima facie it was not a case of security lapse. “The entry was friendly and the neighbours didn’t hear any sound of gunshots.”
This is the third murder of a woman lawyer in the State in the last couple of months.
On June 12, Darvesh Yadav, first president of the Agra Bar Council, was shot dead in her chamber in the Agra court premises. On July 4, Kuljeet Kaur, a Supreme Court lawyer, was found murdered inside her residence in Noida.