Banthra slaying: Suspicion, greed lead killing of six

Suspicions of illicit relations of a sexagenarian father, greed for property, constant humiliation by a younger brother and the mother being a mute spectator to it all triggered the sensational killing of six members of a family, in a Banthra village.

Suspicions of illicit relations of a sexagenarian father, greed for property, constant humiliation by a younger brother and the mother being a mute spectator to it all triggered the sensational killing of six members of a family, in a Banthra village, on Thursday evening.

Amar was feeling betrayed by his parents and brother and had planned their elimination since then. He first convinced his teenage son to assist him in the crime and then made all the preparations to commit it.

The six killed were identified as Amar Singh(68), Ram Sakkhi (65) his younger brother, Arun Singh (40) his wife, Ram Dulari (35) and their children – Saurabh( 9) and Sarika (2). The police arrested Amar Singh’s elder son, Ajay Singh (46) and his 19-year-old son, Avinash Singh, for executing the sensational killings.

Krishna Nagar assistant commissioner of police (ACP) Deepak Kumar Singh, who was among the first responders to the incident, said it was a loathsome scene outside the house of Amar Singh in Guduali village of Banthara, when he reached the spot after getting information about the incident at around 7.30 pm.

“Blood-soaked bodies of Ram Sakkhi, Arun, Ram Dulari and the two children were lying outside the house. The bodies of Ram Sakkhi and the children were found near the doorstep as if their assailants attacked them without giving a chance for them to escape. The bodies of Arun and Ram Dulari were lying some distance away which shows that they tried to escape but were attacked from behind after being chased a few meters,” he added.

The body of Amar Singh was found in the farming field nearly 300 meters from the house. The ACP said that Ajay Singh and his son Avinash confessed to their crime and a sickle and a country-made firearm used in the crime have been recovered from their possession.

“Ajay revealed during the interrogation that he suspected his father had illicit relations with his younger brother (Arun)’s wife, as the former used to give all his money to her, had purchased her ornaments recently, and was planning to transfer his entire farming land to her name. His younger brother, Arun, used to humiliate him whenever he used to stake a claim to the property.

“Ajay often had arguments with his father and brother over the issue and even had a confrontation over selling some part of the family land for ₹ 8 lakh only a few days before the lockdown,” said the ACP.

He said that around 15 days ago, Ajay had approached his mother requesting her to intercede on his behalf, so that he could get his share in the property but she refused to get involved.

“Amar was feeling betrayed by his parents and brother and had planned their elimination since then. He first convinced his teenage son to assist him in the crime and then made all the preparations to commit it,” the ACP said.

He said that Ajay planned to commit the crime in the evening as he was aware that no villager would turn up to help them, as all remain indoors at that time due to the lockdown. He procured a firearm from a local goon and handed over the sickle to his son before leaving to commit the crime.

“The post-mortem of the bodies confirmed that all had injuries of a sharp-edged weapon but Arun’s body also sustained a bullet injury,” the ACP said.