Ex-serviceman kills 6 family members over property dispute in Ambala
An ex-serviceman along with his three aides was arrested on Monday for allegedly hacking six members of his family, including his mother and six-month-old nephew, to death over a land dispute in Ambala district of Haryana, police said.
An ex-serviceman along with his three aides was arrested on Monday for allegedly hacking six members of his family, including his mother and six-month-old nephew, to death over a land dispute in Ambala district of Haryana, police said.
The retired soldier, Bhushan Kumar, 45, also allegedly tried to burn the bodies after committing the crime, police said, adding the incident occurred at Rataur village in Naraingarh sub-division on Sunday night.
The deceased were identified as Kumar’s mother Saropi Devi (65), brother Harish Kumar (35), sister-in-law Sonia (32), nieces (seven and five) and six-month-old nephew. While others died on the spot, one of the nieces succumbed to her injuries at a hospital in Chandigarh, a police officer said.
The ex-serviceman’s father, Om Prakash (68), who was also grievously injured in the incident, however, survived and was undergoing treatment at the Government Medical College and Hospital in Sector 32, Chandigarh, police said.
Preliminary investigation suggested that a dispute over a two-acre land between Bhushan and his brother Harish led to the incident, police said.
In his statement to the police, Prakash, the lone survivor in the gruesome attack, said as he returned home from outside on Sunday night, he saw Bhushan, his wife Poonam (42), their sons Makhan and Prince, both in their late 20s, his brothers-in-law Aman alias Tony and Manish alias Jony, both in their late 30s, and sister-in-law Baby (32) standing with sharp-edged weapons in their hands.
“They attacked me, my wife and later one-by-one they attacked Harish’s family… I fled and hid at my neighbour’s pump house,” Prakash told the police.
Based on his statement, a first information report (FIR) under sections 103(1) (murder), 109 (1) (attempt to murder), and 238 (a) (deliberate act of causing disappearance of evidence), among others, of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) was registered against the seven accused at Naraingarh police station.
“Half-burnt bodies were found at the doorstep of Harish’s house as the accused tried to dispose of the bodies,” Ambala superintendent of police Surender Singh Bhoria said.
The Ambala SP further said that after an overnight operation, prime accused Bhushan, Aman, Manish and a woman were apprehended for questioning and later arrested for the crime.
“A special investigation team (SIT) under DSPs of Naraingarh and Cantonment, and SHOs of Naraingarh and Cyber Crime, has been formed to probe the matter,” he added.
Meanwhile, post-mortem examinations were conducted at the civil hospital in Ambala Cantonment following which the bodies were cremated at the village in the evening, police said.
