Three members of family found murdered in Punjab’s Ludhiana
Police suspect robbery to be motive as the house in Salem Tabri area was ransacked, the role of an acquaintance being probed
Three members of a family, including two women, were found murdered at their house in the New Janakpuri area of the thickly populated Salem Tabri in Ludhiana on Friday morning.
Police said the victims, Chaman Lal, 70, his wife Bachan Kaur, 67, and mother Surjit Kaur, 90, were hacked to death with sharp-edged weapons.
While escaping, the assailants lit incense sticks in the room and opened the LPG gas cylinder with the intention of setting the house on fire to cover up murders as a mishap. But the cylinder didn’t catch fire.
The body of Bachan Kaur was found half-naked. The body of Surinder Kaur was lying beside Bachan Kaur on the double bed, while Chaman Lal’s body was found lying on the floor in the same room.
The crime was detected after the milkman alerted neighbours when no one opened the door despite persistent knocking. The neighbours scaled the wall and entered the house to find the three bodies in a room. They immediately informed the police.
The milkman said the family had not opened the door on Wednesday and Thursday either. It is suspected that the victims were murdered on Tuesday night, police said.
Ludhiana commissioner of police Mandeep Singh Sidhu said that initial investigations suggest that the aim of the unidentified accused was robbery as the entire house was found ransacked. “The police are exploring all aspects. The police have found the almirahs lying open and documents scattered in the house,” Sidhu said.
He added that the assailants might have scattered the documents on purpose to make the crime scene look like a robbery. The police also suspect the role of an acquaintance in committing the crime. “The murders can be a case of personal rivalry,” a police official added.
All four sons of Chaman Lal have settled abroad — including one each in New Zealand, England, France and Italy. The deceased Chaman Lal himself used to work in Dubai. It is learnt that the family owns properties in town, and rent from these was their main source of income. “His sons also send money to them to run the household,” one of the family members, who did not wish to be named, said.
A murder case has been lodged against an unidentified accused at Salem Tabri police station. The police are scanning the CCTVs installed in the area. The bodies have been kept in mortuary at Civil Hospital Ludhiana awaiting poet-mortem. The police have informed the sons of the victims.
This is the second triple murder in Ludhiana in the past one-and-a-half months. On May 21, a retired assistant sub-inspector of police, Kuldeep Singh (65), his wife Paramjeet Kaur (60) and son Gurwinder Singh (30), were found murdered at Nurpur Bet in Ladhowal. A drug addict was later arrested for the crime. He confessed to killing the three after robbing the house.