Father-son duo get life term in decade-old murder case

Additional Sessions Judge Rajneesh Kumar Gupta held the father-son duo of Mohammed Rahees and Anees guilty of murdering Meena by shooting her in September, 1999.

"I am of the opinion that from the dying declaration, the prosecution has proved its case beyond reasonable doubt that the accused in furtherance of their common intention has committed the murder of Meena," the judge said.

The court said the victim's dying declaration showed the involvement of both accused Rahees and his sons Anees and Naseem, who was earlier convicted in the case, in the offence.

Meena had said Rahees and Anees caught hold of her and Naseem had fired at her chest with a country made pistol.

According to the prosecution, the woman's husband Rahees and her step sons Anees and Naseem had caught hold of her and shot her when she had gone to a market in Old Delhi with a relative in September 1999.

It said that the trio stopped her in the street and Rahees asked Naseem to kill Meena, who was shot at her chest.

The victim's relative took her to hospital where she succumbed to injuries after two days. The victim had managed to give her declaration before she passed away, it said.

The accused were earlier declared proclaimed offenders by the court as they failed to appear before it. They, however, were arrested in 2009 and were put on trial.