Ludhiana: Ludhiana resident Neelam Kaur, 38, was sentenced to death on Thursday for burying her neighbor Harpreet Singh’s two-and-a-half-year-old daughter, Dilroz Kaur, alive following a dispute with the family three years ago. The sessions judge, Munish Singal, ordered the death penalty for the brutal crime committed on November 28, 2021.
“We requested the court to consider this a heinous act and to impose the death penalty,” said senior advocate Parupkar Singh Ghumman, who represented the victim’s family. Neelam, a divorcee and mother of two boys, was found guilty by the court after arguments concluded on Tuesday, and she was sentenced on Thursday.
Police stated that Neelam had ongoing tensions with Dilroz’s family members because they reprimanded her sons, aged 8 and 10 years, for causing disturbances in the Shimlapuri neighborhood. On November 28, 2021, she kidnapped the toddler while she was playing in the lane at 2:15 p.m. and drove her scooter to Salem Tabri, 13 km away.
Ghumman revealed that Neelam had previously prepared the pit with the intent to kill the toddler. The police took action half an hour later when the toddler’s grandfather, Shaminder Singh, reported the incident. Neelam even joined the police team, family members, and other neighbors in searching for the child. The truth only emerged when the police obtained CCTV footage showing Neelam taking the girl on her scooter; confronted with the footage, she confessed to the crime.
“Initially, she denied any knowledge of Dilroz’s whereabouts. However, after questioning and showing her the CCTV footage, she admitted to her actions,” the lawyer said. Neelam was planning to leave the Shimlapuri neighborhood with her sons and parents on the day she committed the crime, according to Ghumman.