Murders involving family members as culprits on the rise

LUDHIANA: With the city witnessing no respite in crime cases, even murders — especially those involving close family members as culprits — have become more common these days. Since January onwards, as many as 10 such murder cases — in which family members were involved and arrested — have been reported in the city. The figure of such cases from June last year to the present is 20.

In a recent incident reported in Salem Tabri, the police arrested 19-year-old Guddu, who stabbed his brother-in-law (sister’s husband) to death.According to police, Bhim Singh (the deceased) would often thrash his wife Meera in an inebriated condition, which was the reason for their strained relations. In the wee hours of 30 May, while Bhim Singh was beating his wife, Guddu reached there to rescue his sister. However, following heated arguments, he stabbed Bhim to death.
Similarly, on 29 May, 65-year-old Surjit Kaur of Company Bagh Colony was murdered by her daughter-in-law Jyoti and her two aides. The police arrested Jyoti, her friend Barkha, and Barkha’s paramour Rajveer Singh. According to police, Surjit used to deter Jyoti from meeting Barkha, as she was aware about Barkha’s extra-marital affair, following which Jyoti planned Surjit’s murder, and Rajveer attacked Surjit with sharp-edged weapons, for which he was promised Rs40,000.
Prior to this, in yet another case reported on 21 May, Sarabha Nagar police arrested a woman, Nanakki, for brutally killing her husband Surinder Kumar of Lal Bagh Colony with an iron rod. Surinder used to beat Nanakki often. On May 20 night, Surinder thrashed Nanakki, and in retaliation, she thrashed him to death.
Former retired director-general of police (DGP) Chandar Shekhar said: “Globalization and westernization has ruined Indian culture, and has brought intolerance in society. Good upbringing and inculcating values among the younger generation is the need of the hour. Besides, the government should follow other countries by introducing the ministry of wellness and pleasure. In some countries, the respective ministry works on keeping their citizens happy and stress-free.”
City-based psychiatrist Dr Rajiv Gupta said: “Mainly in all these cases, the reasons are illicit relationships, strained relations, and ‘intolerance’. The traditional value system has also eroded. Emotional ties are getting weaker and materialistic desires are getting priority. In addition, people are becoming more intolerant, which is why they choose the way of violence to end conflicts, rather than simply talking over the issue. Further, social media and the entertainment industry glorifies violence, revenge, consumption of drugs and alcohol, which people are adopting by imitation. I would say there are no direct solutions to certain problems. People need to channelise their energies in a positive direction through spiritual activities or meditation.”
KILLING OF KIN
2018
21 May: Nanakki brutally killed her husband Surinder Kumar of Lal Bagh Colony with an iron rod. She attacked her husband on his head and face several times until he died. It is alleged that Surinder used to thrash his wife in an inebriated condition, which was the reason for their strained relations.
2 May: Varinder Arora of Jamalpur was arrested for killing his wife, Nidhi Arora, by gagging her with a pillow. It is alleged that the couple had strained relations, the major reason for which was that the man wanted to have a son, after having two daughters.
28 April: Vandana, with the help of her paramour Gautam, killed her husband Patit Pavan of Jassiyan Road, by gagging him with a pillow. She later hanged his body from the ceiling fan to give it the colour of suicide.
29 March: Shimlapuri police arrested Charanjit Singh for killing his live-in-partner, Pooja of Janata Nagar, by hitting her with a brick. The couple had strained relations, as the accused was a drug addict, and Pooja had to run the house.
16 March: A drug addict — Abhishek Mishra of Haibowal — killed his father, following a heated argument. The son first thrashed his elderly father Sri Ram Mishra, strangulated him, and then set him on fire. According to information, Abhishek is a drug addict and would often fight with his father to get money for drugs, while his father used to ask him to find work.
10 March: Rakesh Kana of Bharti Colony on Bahadur Ke Road stabbed his paramour Heena, mother of three children, to death a week after she had eloped with him. Heena’s decomposed body was found from Rakesh’s rented accommodation.
20 February: Gurmail Singh (55) of Bhaini Doaba village of Koomkalan, killed his daughter Balwinder Kaur and her beau Kuldeep Kumar Chabra with an axe, in a case of honour killing. After killing them, he put their bodies in a cart and parked it in the middle of a chowk to set an example for others. Later, in the early hours next day, he surrendered before the Koomkalan police and confessed his crime.
2017
4 December: Jamalpur police arrested Manjit Singh of village Sekhwan of Gurdaspur for killing the seven-year-old son of his paramour. The accused told the police he wanted to marry his paramour, but did not want to keep the child with him, which is why he killed the child. The man strangulated the boy with his thumb and also shoved his hand in the boy’s throat.
21 October: Salem Tabri police arrested a woman Bijli Devi for killing her husband Suresh Mandal with the help of her beau Akhilesh Kumar. They slit his throat with a saw blade on the roof of the labour quarters in Sekhewal village. The duo wrapped his body in a blanket, stuffed it in a sack, and dumped it under the cot in her rented accommodation.
5 September: Suspecting his minor sister of bad character, a youth took his 15-year-old sister to Haridwar in Uttrakhand and pushed her from the hill, after strangulating her near Chandi Temple. The girl luckily escaped and lodged a police complaint, following which the Uttarakhand police team led by sub-inspector Jatinder Bhandari of Shampur police station reached Ludhiana and arrested the accused brother with the help of Ludhiana police.
9 August: Mohammad Jamil killed his nine-year-old nephew over a monetary dispute with his brother Mohammad Hussain in Azad Nagar of Jodhewal. The boy was stabbed twice with a scissors.
3 August: Sahnewal police arrested Baljinder Kaur and his accomplice Gurjant Singh for killing an elderly man Hardev Singh, with whom the woman had illicit relations, for money. Hardev was brutally murdered inside his house. His legs and arms were tied up, and his mouth was stuffed with his turban cloth, to suppress his screams. He was attacked several times on his neck and chest.