Indian woman, on death row for killing child, executed in UAE: Centre

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) informed the Delhi High Court that Shahzadi Khan, the woman from Uttar Pradesh, had been executed on the 15th of February. The court was hearing her father’s plea about her well-being was informed on Monday. “It is over. She was executed on February 15. Her last rites will be held on March 5,” Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Chetan Sharma told the court.

ASG Sharma, who represented the ministry, stated that the authorities are extending all possible assistance and that her cremation is scheduled for the 5th of March. Shahzadi Khan was a resident of Uttar Pradesh’s Banda district, travelled to Abu Dhabi on a tourist visa on 19 December 2022.

Shahzadi Khan was handed over to the Abu Dhabi police on February 10, 2023 and she was sentenced to death on July 31, 2023. She was lodged in the Al Wathba jail. Shabbir Khan, a resident of Uttar Pradesh’s Banda, said there was “profound uncertainty” regarding his daughter Shahzadi’s situation and his repeated applications to the MEA for clarification were fruitless.

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The plea alleged that Shahzadi was inadequately represented before the local courts in the case over the alleged murder of her employer’s four-month-old child and she was pressured into confessing, leading to the imposition of the death penalty on her.

The petitioner’s counsel said on February 14, Shahzadi had called the family from the prison saying that she would be executed in a day or two and this would be her last call. Since then, they were unaware of her well-being, he said. The Centre’s counsel told the court that the Embassy officials and the petitioner were in touch and arrangements were being made so that the family could attend their daughter’s last rites in Abu Dhabi.

(With inputs from PTI)