Fed up with penthouse nuisance, Indore woman killed was planning to shift

Indore, March 30 (IANS) The female software engineer who was killed after objecting to the use of a penthouse for commercial activities in her residential complex here was planning to sell her flat and shift elsewhere, as her family was fed up with persistent late‑night nuisance in the society, her husband has said.

Shampa Pandey, who was run over by a car during an altercation at Shiv Vatika Township on March 26, had decided to move out after repeated disturbances caused by commercial activities being carried out from a penthouse in the society.

“She (Shampa) was very upset with the nuisance from the commercial activities in the penthouse, especially late at night. Therefore, we had decided to sell out this flat and buy another one at another location and had already started searching for it. A flat was finalised, and we had also carried a cheque, but later, we decided to pay a token amount on our next visit,” Shampan's husband, Saurabh Pandey, said while talking to IANS on Monday.

He said Shampa’s decisions were always final for the family and that all their plans were shattered by her death.

Saurabh Pandey, who now has the responsibility of caring for his elderly parents and their two minor sons aged seven and ten, said Shampa had finalised the flat at DB Pride shortly before the incident.

Pandey further shared that on March 22, local area municipal councillors had held a meeting, and Shampa was also present there. In that meeting, all residents had unanimously opposed the renting of the penthouse for commercial activities, and Kuldeep Choudhary (whose son killed Shampa) had accepted it.

On the other hand, police said the investigation in the case is still underway, and Kuldeep and his 18-year-old son Mohnish were taken to the spot (residential complex) in tight security by a team from the Lasudia police station on Sunday afternoon. The residents present there expressed their anger and demanded death punishment for both father and son.

Meanwhile, a team of officials from Indore Municipal Corporation (BMC) visited the Shiv Vatika township to ascertain the number of properties owned by Choudhary within the complex. During the visit, civic officials held an interaction with the residents and issued a notice regarding the commercial activities in the residential society.

"What surprised me was that none of the public representatives, neither from the state ruling BJP nor opposition Congress, visited the aggrieved family to express condolences. Only municipal councillor Rakesh Solanki, who had tried to resolve the issue, visited us," Pandey told IANS.

Shampa Panday’s body was cremated on March 27. She was born and brought up in Jabalpur and was married to Saurabh Pandey, whose family originally belongs to the Ayodhya district of Uttar Pradesh.

Notably, on Wednesday night (March 26), Kuldeep Chaudhary, who owns at least two penthouses in the complex, entered into a heated argument with residents of the society, including Shampa’s husband. He then called his son Mohnish to the spot, which led to a physical altercation.

Subsequently, the Chaudhary family, including Kuldeep, his wife, and son Mohnish, got into their Swift car. Mohnish, who was driving, allegedly sped towards a group of residents standing nearby. While some escaped, Shampa Pandey could not, and the car hit her, causing her to fall. She later died.

A case of murder has already been registered after the father and son were arrested on Thursday.

--IANS

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