Brothers kill father, stepmother over property dispute

Udaipur: Two brothers murdered their father, stepmother, and 2-year-old stepbrother over property in Mungana Tanda village under Parsola police station in Dhariawad subdivision of Pratapgarh. The murders were executed on July 25 but came to light on Monday, following a police investigation.Villagers reported to police on July 27 that Surajmal Labana (50), his wife Lachhibai (30), and their toddler son had been missing for two days. Police reached their home and found no trace of them. Surajmal's two sons resided in a different house within the village. The police conducted initial interrogations with the neighbours but found no leads that day.On July 28, police returned to the scene and discovered blood stains in the house. Forensic team and dog squad were called and investigations carried out late into Sunday night.The breakthrough came on Monday when Surajmal's sons, Kanti (30) and Manniram (25) were detained and questioned. Their confession led police to an anicut 2 km from the village, where they recovered the bodies of Surajmal, Lachhibai and the toddler, all tied to stones and submerged under water.Police said the bodies were cleaned and hidden in the house before being disposed of in the anicut.As per police, the two brothers had discovered that their father Surajmal had transferred his property to Lachhibai. The conflict escalated despite a police complaint lodged by the couple a year ago of threats from the sons.Surajmal’s first wife passed away five years ago and he married Lachhibai in Dec 2020. This marriage was met with hostility from his sons and the community, which imposed a financial penalty of Rs 11 lakh on Surajmal. The couple sought protection from the Jodhpur High Court in 2021, which ordered security for the couple.We also published the following articles recently