The day of Diwali in Madhya Pradesh turned bloody as nine murders and one murder and suicide were reported from different districts. Of these, two were mass murders – four in Alirajpur district and three in Hoshangabad district. In Dewas, a teacher allegedly killed his wife and then consumed poison, police sources said.
Also, a murder each from Indore and Khandwa districts were reported on the festival night.
Apart from this, early on Friday morning, three youngsters from Indore were charred to death in Guna district.
In Alirajpur, a row over the elopement of a young couple turned into a bloody conflict. Members of the two families, who are related, attacked each other with weapons, killing two persons from each side.
Police said the conflict erupted at a panchayat held in Bokadia Gorad settlement in Chandpur police station area. Kin of a young couple who had eloped one and a half years ago, confronted each other mainly over the return of about one kg silver that the girl is said to have taken with her.
The families had not filed any police complaint in the manner and were trying to resolve the issue on a community level, police sources said. However, things went out of control during the panchayat on Diwali night, resulting in the murders of the paternal cousins of the young man - Smal Ningwal, 25 and Sukhdev Ningwal, 22 - and the girl's grandfather Bhal Singh and paternal uncle Nanbu Singh. A posse of policemen has been posted in the village following the incident, with superintendent of police Manoj Kumar Singh himself visiting the spot.
Couple, son murdered in Hoshangabad
In another incident, a couple and their 12-year-old son were found murdered at their home in Durga Colony of Banapura in Hoshangabad district on Diwali evening. Police said that the three were killed with sharp-edged weapons, with injuries on head and neck. The murders came to light when the neighbours of Yogesh Namdev, 35, got suspicious as the flour mill and grocery store run by the family from their home did not open till evening. When they looked into the house, they found the bodies of Yogesh, his wife Sunita and son Divyansh on their beds. Another son of the couple was at his grandfather's place.
Police have said that the household things were scattered around and theft is suspected. A team of four officers has been constituted to probe the murders, SP Gurkaran Singh said.
Murder and suicide in Dewas
A case of suspected murder and suicide was reported from Dewas, also late on Diwali night. According to the police, the bodies of a couple were found inside their car around midnight of Diwali, by the highway patrol team. The victims were identified as Chidawad residents Chandrashekhar Mandloi, 38, a teacher at a government school in Maksi and his wife Alka, 35. They had reportedly gone out for shopping on Diwali evening. A pouch of poison and a blood-stained dagger were found from the car, police sources said. They are suspecting that Chandrashekhar stabbed Alka before consuming poison. The cause of murder and suicide is being probed, superintendent of police Shivdayal Singh said.
In Khandwa, Vishal Oswal was allegedly stabbed to death by one Nannu Balahi in Bilankheda village, on Diwali night. Vishal was trying to save his father Naresh Oswal, the local village kotwar who was assaulted by Balahi under the influence of liquor. Police said the accused lives in Bhopal but had come to Bilankheda on Diwali. Accused has been arrested, police said.
Another youth was stabbed to death on Diwali night in the Vijaynagar locality of Indore. Police said that a group of youths were consuming liquor when they got into an argument resulting in an attack on each other with knives. Akash Sankhle was killed while two others were injured. Police have arrested six youths in the matter.
Three charred to death in Guna accident
In Guna, three youngsters from Indore, belonging to an extended family, were charred to death when the mini bus they were travelling in, caught fire after ramming into a stationary container early on Friday morning.
In all, 28 members of an extended family, most of them residing in Dwarkapuri in Indore, were going to Mathura when the accident occurred. Other family members were pulled out of the burning bus, but Rohit Sharma, 19, Madhav Sharma, 20 and Durga Sharma, 13, were charred to death.
Police sources said that the driver of the bus Nitesh Khatri was in inebriated condition, and was driving the bus recklessly despite objection from the passengers.
