A woman from Uttar Pradesh, Shahzadi Khan, who was facing death sentence in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for the alleged murder of a four-month-old child was executed on February 15 in Abu Dhabi, as informed to the Delhi High Court on Monday during a hearing on her father’s plea regarding her well-being.
On February 15, the phone rang in a small home in Goyera Mughli village, Banda, nestled in UP’s Bundelkhand region. The voice on the other end was familiar, yet heavy with a sense of finality. “This is my last call,” said 33-year-old Shahzadi Khan.
Shahzadi’s brother gripped the phone tighter. “They asked me about my final wish,” she said, further adding, “I asked to speak to ammi and abbu.”
Her mother gasped in the background, grasping for a daughter she could neither save nor hold-one who was facing execution for the murder of a four-month-old child, thousands of miles away in Abu Dhabi. Too far to reach, yet too close to lose. And then, silence. Shahzadi was gone.
“We didn’t hear from her afterward,” Shamsher said Monday. “We filed a writ petition in Delhi High Court, where we were informed Monday about her execution,” the brother said.
“Shahzadi’s last rites will be held on March 5,” Additional Solicitor General Chetan Sharma told the court. On March 1, Shabbir Khan, the father of Shahzadi Khan, approached the Delhi High Court, requesting a directive to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and relevant authorities to issue a bulletin and determine the exact legal status and well-being of his daughter.
Shabbir Khan further 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.