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25-year-old man dies of burn injuries in MP’s Sagar district, 4 arrested: Police
Police said Rahul Yadav died after he was set on fire and pushed off a roof, allegedly by the family of a higher-caste woman he had gone to meet. But the woman, 23-year-old Chanchal Sharma who also sustained 60% burns, told the police that Yadav had come to her house, and tried to kill her by immolating her
A 25-year-old man died of burn injuries in Madhya Pradesh’s Sagar district on Friday, prompting the police to arrest four members of a higher-caste family for the alleged crime and the government to promise exemplary action in the case.
Police said Rahul Yadav died after he was set on fire and pushed off a roof, allegedly by the family of a higher-caste woman he had gone to meet.
But the woman, 23-year-old Chanchal Sharma who also sustained 60% burns, told the police that Yadav had come to her house, and tried to kill her by immolating her.
Police arrested four members of the woman’s family -- her father Raghavendra, uncle Vishnu and brothers Shubham and Deepak -- and charged them with murder.
Sagar superintendent of police, Atul Singh, said Yadav and Sharma were in a relationship for a few years and that her family didn’t approve of it.
When asked about the woman’s allegation, the SP said that phone call details showed that the woman had called Yadav to meet. “We are investigating the matter,” he added.
Urban development and housing minister Bhupendra Singh said the government will not spare the accused. “We will punish them so that people will never think of committing such crime,” he added after meeting Yadav’s family.
Police said Sharma is Brahmin and her family was influential in Semra Lahariya village. Her uncle, Vishnu, was earlier the village chief and the family owns large parcels of land. Yadav belonged to an other backward class (OBC) communtiy who eked out a living as a daily wager in Sagar’s fruit market, Singh added.
Last year, Sharma’s family married her off to a man from their community 150km away in Jabalpur. She returned home a few days ago, and called Yadav to her house on Thursday evening, when her family saw them, said police.
Singh said Raghvendra, Vishnu,Shubham and Deepak tied Yadav’s hands and mercilessly thrashed him. “Later, they poured kerosene oil on him and set him afire and then pushed him off the roof. He landed in their cowshed,” the district police chief added, citing the young man’s statement recorded hours before his death.
A villager informed the police about the incident.Yadav and Sharma were taken to the local community health centre. Early on Friday morning, they were taken to the Bundelkhand Medical College 30km away. Yadav died soon after, police said.
Sharma’s family blamed Yadav and said he had come to kill the woman. But Yadav’s family refuted the allegations.
Yadav’s uncle, Umashankar Yadav, said the family knew about his relationship with Sharma, but that he kept himself busy with work as a daily wager since her wedding.
“On Thursday evening, Rahul told me that Chanchal asked him for one last meeting. She had been calling him for the past three days. Rahul went there to meet her last time but we didn’t know that they would kill him,” Umashankar said.
Yadav’s family sought police protection even as protests rocked the region .
