India: Elderly man beaten to death by women in court room

A 50-year-old woman and her daughter-in-law assaulted Ramesh Nigam, an Indian land record official, inside a court in Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh. The victim, a relative of the women, fell down and died. Nigam, the elder woman’s brother-in-law, was accused of murdering his brother and nephew. Nigam had been previously released on bail.

The three had come to the court on January 30 for a hearing of that case. The trio commenced arguing inside the court and the two women took their sandals to thrash Nigam. A crowd gathered around the disputants as the elderly Nigam was beaten by the two Furies, as shown on videotape shown on Indian television.

According to the police, the incident was the result of a long family dispute. Nigam allegedly murdered the women’s husbands in March 2011.

Police have taken the women in custody for interrogation. A coroner's report is expected to determine whether the obviously infirm Nigam died as a result of the beating, or because of a heart attack brought on by the 'shock and humiliation' said a report on NDTV news.