Naraingarh murders: Ex-serviceman was eyeing younger brother’s property, say cops
Bhushan, who retired from the armed forces nearly seven years ago, with six of his relatives ended the lives of his younger brother Harish Kumar, his wife and mother Saropi Devi. The accused did not even spare his two nieces and a 6-month-old nephew
A day after an ex-serviceman in collusion with his aides allegedly killed six of his family members over a property dispute in Ambala’s Naraingarh, the investigators have found that the brawl over a two-acre brewed after the birth of his 6-month-old nephew this year.
On Sunday night, two adjoining houses on the outskirts of Ratour village, nearly 40 km away from Ambala district headquarters, witnessed the bloodshed and brutal murder of six that shook the region.
Following the murders, the cops carried out a search operation overnight in the fields and neighbouring villages to arrest four accused, including prime accused Bhushan.
Bhushan, who retired from the armed forces nearly seven years ago, with six of his relatives ended the lives of his younger brother Harish Kumar, his wife and mother Saropi Devi. The accused did not even spare his two nieces and a 6-month-old nephew.
The accused tried to burn one of the nieces, 7-year-old Pari, alive but she managed to reach a tube well and save herself. However, she later succumbed to her burn injuries at PGIMER, Chandigarh, where her grandfather and lone survivor of the attack Om Prakash is currently undergoing treatment.
Following the attack, SP Surender Singh Bhoria formed an SIT, including two DSPs, SHO Naraingarh police station, and crime and cyber teams, to probe the matter.
After the arrests on Monday, the investigators are collecting human and technical evidence in the case.
The police have so far established that the land measuring that was distributed equally among the brothers by Om Prakash was the primary reason behind the murders.
People familiar with the matter said despite getting an army pension, salary from his state government job post-retirement and income from a grocery store, Bhushan was eying the share of his younger brother as also mentioned by their father.
For the last several years, the family endured the dispute over the land but Mayank’s birth this year pushed for a fresh brawl, investigators said.
Inspector Virender Walia, SHO Naraingarh police station, believes that after two girls to Harish, the boy could have been seen as a legal heir to the land. He said the accused were presented before a court that sent Bhushan and his two brothers-in-laws into a day of remand.