RAIPUR: A court in Chhattisgarh’s Korba district has sentenced Harbhajan Singh Kanwar, the elder son of former deputy chief minister of Madhya Pradesh Pyarelal Kanwar , along with his wife, brother-in-law, and two aides to life imprisonment for murdering his own younger brother and his family in 2021 over a property dispute.
The district and additional sessions judge (III) Sunil Kumar Nande delivered the verdict on Wednesday, convicting Harbhajan (52), his wife Dhankunwar (39), his brother-in-law Parmeshwar Kanwar (31), and two others—Ramprasad Mannewar (31) and Surendra Singh Kanwar—under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), said additional public prosecutor Krishna Kumar Dwivedi.
Pyarelal’s younger son, Harish (40), his wife Sumitra (35), and their daughter Aashi (5) were found murdered at their house in Bhaisma village under the Urga police station area in Korba on April 21, 2021.
Police said that CCTV footage showed Harbhajan, his wife, and two daughters stepping out of the house, purportedly for a walk. Within minutes, two unidentified masked persons entered the house.
The accused had attacked the family members multiple times with sharp-edged weapons, killing them. Harish’s mother, Janki Bai, who was also present in the house at the time, was, however, not killed.
{{/usCountry}}The accused had attacked the family members multiple times with sharp-edged weapons, killing them. Harish’s mother, Janki Bai, who was also present in the house at the time, was, however, not killed.
{{/usCountry}}The prosecution argued that Harbhajan had orchestrated the murders due to ongoing property and family disputes. A key piece of evidence was a mobile phone message exchanged between Harbhajan and Parmeshwar, which read “gate khula hai, aap log aa jaaiye” (the gate is open, you may come in), establishing the conspiracy behind the crime.
Following the murders, police arrested Harbhajan, Dhankunwar, Parmeshwar, Ramprasad, and Surendra in connection with the crime.
Pyarelal Kanwar, the father of Harbhajan and Harish, served as the deputy chief minister of the then-undivided Madhya Pradesh under Digvijay Singh’s government from 1993 to 1998. He passed away in 2011.