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MP: Siblings beaten to death by uncle over property dispute in Sehore
The family claimed they had repeatedly warned authorities about threats from the alleged perpetrator but no protection was provided.
Two siblings were allegedly beaten to death by their uncle during a dispute over the encroachment of forest land being used for agriculture in Dharampuri village in Ashta of Sehore district on Friday, the police said.
The victims were identified as Sheetal Malviya (20) and Kuldeep Malviya (19). Police are trying to nab the accused, Harisingh Malviya and his son.
“Harisingh and his younger brother Jagdish had a long-standing dispute over the encroachment of forest land for farming. A few months ago, Harisingh’s son died in an accident, after which he began threatening Jagdish and his family. A few weeks ago, he also threatened Jagdish’s wife and hurled abuses, following which a case was registered against Harisingh at Siddiqueganj police station. On Friday morning, the siblings were attacked with a stick by Harisingh Malviya while they were on their way to take their Class 10 examination. Neighbours tried to intervene, but Harisingh fled the spot. The siblings were taken to the hospital, where doctors declared them dead,” sub-divisional police officer Damodar Gupta said.
Following the deaths, family members created a ruckus at Ashta civil hospital, alleging police inaction and even thrashing a constable outside the post-mortem room. They also set the house of Hari Singh on fire.
The family claimed they had repeatedly warned authorities about threats from Harisingh but no protection was provided.
The maternal uncle of the victims, Mukesh Malviya, said, “The family had submitted four applications in the past two months to SP Deepak Kumar Shukla, SDOP Damodar Gupta and Siddiqganj police station, seeking security against Harisingh’s threats.”
“We lost two children because of police negligence,” he said, demanding that officers also be booked for murder.
The police have registered a case and deployed additional force in the village to maintain peace and ensure that the cremation is carried out without further disturbance.
