Agra man gets life term for killing mother over money dispute

Agra: A local court has sentenced a 30-year-old man to life imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 55,000 on him for killing his 56-year-old mother with a grinding stone after she allegedly refused to give him money.

The court of ADJ Pushkar Upadhyay awarded the sentence to convict Shivam Bindal.

ADGC Adarsh Kumar told TOI, “The incident took place on March 1, 2023, at the family’s house in Agra’s Jagner area. Sunita Devi and Shivam were in the house while her husband, Subhash Bindal, had gone to the city for work.”

The crime came to light after the couple’s daughter Shivani, who lives in Bengaluru, informed her father that her mother was not answering calls. When Subhash also failed to contact her, he asked a neighbour to check on the house. Neighbours found the main gate locked from outside and discovered Sunita lying in a pool of blood after breaking open the lock. Shivam’s phone was switched off, raising suspicion against him.

Based on Subhash’s complaint, police registered an FIR under IPC section 302 (murder) at Jagner police station.

During the probe, police found that Shivam had allegedly attacked his mother on the head with a grinding stone following an argument over money. After the murder, Shivam fled on a motorcycle and kept changing locations to evade arrest. Police arrested him on Oct 14, 2023, after announcing a reward of Rs 25,000 for information leading to his capture.

The court also noted that the accused did not attend his mother’s funeral. Investigators recovered a message allegedly sent by Shivam to a female friend in which he claimed he killed his mother after feeling isolated by her.