Man kills wife, daughter-in-law, 4-year-old granddaughter in Odisha; absconding: Police

Police say the accused attacked his wife with a construction pounder after a family dispute; daughter-in-law and 4-year-old granddaughter were also killed in Odisha’s Deogarh

A 52-year-old man allegedly killed his wife, daughter-in-law, and minor granddaughter late Wednesday night in Gariapali village of Odisha’s Deogarh district, police said, adding that the accused is absconding.

The man allegedly killed his wife, daughter-in-law and 4-year-old granddaughter during a late-night assault in Deogarh village. (Representative photo)

Ramesh Garia and his wife Gul (42) had got into a fight on Monday night, following which he ran after her with a pounder tool that he used in construction work, inspector-in-charge of the Kundeigola police station John Kujur said.

“The woman ran into the room of her daughter-in-law to save herself. Ramesh broke through and gave a blow to her head with the pounder, resulting in her death. When the daughter-in-law tried to save Gul, she was also assaulted with the pounder and died on the spot. In the scuffle, the 4-year-old granddaughter also received grievous injuries and died,” Kujur said.

The other deceased are Lipi Mahakul, his daughter-in-law, and the granddaughter, Kujur added.

The son of the accused, Dhiren Garia, was away when the incident took place. On returning late that night, he discovered the bodies and alerted the Kundeigola police.

Police have recovered the bodies and sent them for postmortem.

Neighbours are being questioned to reconstruct the sequence of events.

Police said the accused often used to threaten his wife with murder. “A family dispute is believed to be the main reason behind the incident. He had a short temper and that often resulted in fights between him and his wife,” said a police officer.