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4 of Rajasthan family hacked, set afire;19-year-old relative held, say police
A 19-year-old man has been arrested for allegedly killing four members of his uncle's family in Jodhpur, India, over an old land dispute. The bodies were set on fire. The incident has sparked a political row, with the opposition BJP criticizing the Congress government over the state's law and order situation. The accused confessed to the crime, stating that he believed his uncles would inherit the ancestral property. The state's human rights body has requested a report on the incident.
JODHPUR: A 19-year-old man was arrested for allegedly killing four members of his uncle’s family, including a six-month-old toddler, and setting their bodies on fire over an old land dispute in Jodhpur district of Rajasthan, police said on Wednesday.
The incident in chief minister Ashok Gehlot’s home district sparked a political row, with the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) targeting the Congress government over “deteriorating law and order situation” in the state.
According to the police, the incident took place at Ramnagar village in Jodhpur district around 3am on Wednesday.
The accused, identified as Pappuram (19), a nephew of the head of the victim family, has been arrested, superintendent of police, Jodhpur Rural, Dharemndra Singh Yadav said.
The incident took place around 3 am when the accused attacked his paternal uncle Poonaram Berad (55), aunt Bhanwari Devi (50), their daughter-in-law Dhapu Devi (24), and her toddler daughter Manisha, the SP said.
The accused attacked Poonaram and his wife, who were sleeping outside their hut, and Dhapu and her daughter inside the house. “The assailant slit their throats with an axe and subsequently dragged bodies of Poonaram and his wife inside the hut and set the house on fire,” Yadav said.
Dhapu’s husband Harjiram, who works at a stone quarry during night, was not at home at the time of the incident. Poonaram’s another son lives with his family in another house in the village, police said.
Villagers spotted the charred bodies inside Poonaram’s hut and subsequently alerted the Cherai police post, following which senior officers, including SP Yadav, reached at spot.
The bodies have been sent for post-mortem examination, the officer said.
The accused, son of Poonaram’s elder brother Bhairaram, was seen in the vicinity of the house on Tuesday evening, which raised suspicion of his involvement. “We immediately detained him,” the SP said.
During his interrogation, Pappuram admitted to killing the four members of his uncle’s family over an old property dispute between his father and uncle. The property in question was owned by two other uncles — one of whom had died while the other was unmarried — of the accused, police said.
“The accused told us that he believed his two uncles (Poonaram and Meharam, who was unmarried) would get entire ancestral property,” Yadav said, citing it as the prime motive behind the crime. Besides, Pappuram’s brother had died under suspicious circumstances eight months back in Surat, and he suspected Poonaram of being involved in his death, the officer added.
Details have been sought from the Surat police to find exact reasons behind the death of the brother of the accused to conduct a “comprehensive” investigation, the SP said.
The Berad family owned about 10 acres of land in the village.
A case of murder under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) has been registered against the accused. “We are also investigating if someone else was also involved in the crime,” the SP said, adding police are trying to recover the weapon used in the crime.
Meanwhile, the Opposition BJP targeted chief minister Gehlot, saying for the third day in a row, a crime has been reported from his home district.
“If this is the CM’s district one can image the situation in the rest of the state,” Rajasthan BJP president CP Joshi said. “There is no law and order. Criminals are roaming fearless, crimes against women are rising… Rajasthan which was once a peaceful state has become a hub of crime.”
Senior Congress leader and state’s parliamentary affairs minister Shanti Kumar Dhariwal, however, said the culprit was arrested within hours of committing the crime.
“Rajasthan DGP Umesh Mishra, SP Dharmendra Singh Yadav, district collector Himangshu Gupta are monitoring the investigation. ADGP (Dinesh MN) and an FSL team were also appointed considering the seriousness of the matter,” Dhariwal said. “The culprit was arrested within a few hours. ”
Meanwhile, the state human rights body has sought a report on the incident from the IG and the SP.
