Rise in family killings

LUDHIANA: Several gruesome crimes in the recent past have pointed to the fact that lust for property, hatred led kin to brutally murder their dear ones. Such ruthless and merciless acts have put even intimate relationships in severe doubt. As in one such case reported on September 23, a resident of Lajpat Nagar was put to death by his cousin Raman Kapoor.
Two killings had shocked Ludhiana on July 17 when Reena Anand’s greed for property made her commit a heinous crime of murdering her father-in-law Narinder Kumar Anand, 62, and step daughter, Rewa, 8, at their residence in Punjab Mata Nagar. The woman had confessed to her crime.
And on August 7, twin murders shook the city. Usha Rani, 55, and her pregnant daughter Seema, 30, were killed by Seema’s in-laws – Subhash Chander and Darshna – with sharp-edged weapons, at their residence in Bajra colony. The accused were arrested and they told police that a family dispute had led to the killings.
In yet another similar case, Himanshu Arora, 27, killed his pregnant wife Lalita Arora alias Pooja and then committed suicide in the Field Ganj area. Sources said Himanshu was mentally unstable but the motive behind the killing is still unclear. Lalita’s family had alleged that the couple was not enjoying cordial relations with their family. Not only this, in a case of contractual killing, a principal living in the Model Town area, Kuldeep Kaur, 52, hatched a murder conspiracy with her domestic helpers to kill her husband Satpal Singh, 60, on August 4.
She had struck a deal with domestic helpers – Naresh and Kamlesh – for Rs 3.50 lakh, and had given them Rs 20,000 as the first installment. The principal was arrested and she confessed to her crime stating that she was inclined towards owing her husband’s property.