( 1 ) ON 27th October, 1998, house No. A-32/15, Main road No. 66, Maujpur, was a mute witness to murder and robbery. It was otherwise a house which appeared to be buzzing with activity. On its first floor lived Shama Parveen along with her three sons and her mother, while on the ground floor she was running a business of air-coolers and real-estate. A portion of the ground floor was also in occupation of her maternal uncle (Mammu) namely, Mohd. Jamil, who was running his own shop from there. Shama Parveen knew one Salvinder alias Kake who was dealing in finance. He was assisting her in her business and was a frequent visitor to the house.

( 2 ) ON the fateful day of 27th October, 1998, she along with Salvinder returned to her house after making purchases from the market little knowing that the coming hours were not to augur well for either of the two. What followed was a gory incident in which she and Salvinder were robbed of their valuables by three persons who had entered her house armed with weapons. Thereafter, one of them made an attempt to outrage her modesty to which salvinder objected, upon which he was shot dead by that person. Shama Parveen thus not only