Blood Lines

Two years ago, Bimla Devi’s son Praveen was killed when a group of armed men, allegedly led by Krishan Malik, 55, a fellow resident of village Bhainswal Kalan in Haryana, pumped nine bullets into the 24-year-old. The murder, committed in broad daylight, laid the foundation for a deadly feud between the two families that has so far claimed the lives of seven men and one woman. Seven of these murders were committed in the last three months, of which four were in the last fortnight alone.

On April 16 this year, Praveen’s brother Jitender, 22, his cousin Satpal, 26, and their friend Naveen, 22, allegedly killed Krishan’s son Pradeep, 23 and his two friends Ravi, 22, and Akshay, 19, and dumped their bodies in a canal in Uttar Pradesh. Then, on June 4, a group of assailants led by Krishan, allegedly killed Bimla’s husband Balbir Singh, 65, in retaliation. “The village was so terrified that nobody dared touch Balbir’s body, which just lay on the street,” says Narendra Malik (not related to accused Krishan Malik), who serves with the Haryana Police and whose wife, Manjita, is the sarpanch of Bhainswal Kalan.

Before Bimla could come to terms with her husband’s murder, the assailants struck again in the wee hours of June 8. This time, they killed Bimla’s brother-in-law Hoshiyar Singh, 58, and his wife Nirmala, 55. An hour later, the same group allegedly killed Surinder Singh, 50, an acquaintance of Hoshiyar. Surinder was shot dead while he was asleep at home in the neighbouring village of Katwal. According to villagers, he was killed as a result of his enmity with Sumit Katwal, one of Krishan’s aides, and was shot while the assailants were escaping after killing Hoshiyar and Nirmala.

The feud has left villagers stunned. While Jitender, Satpal and Naveen are in Muzaffarngar jail, charged with the triple murder, Ravi and Akshay’s parents have refused to press any charges against the killers.

A fearful silence prevails in Bhainswal Kalan, a Jat-dominated village 206 km from Chandigarh and with a population of over 10,000. Krishan and Bimla’s families belong to the dominant community, with each of the family members making their living off their moderate landholdings. The locals prefer not to discuss the feud, but believe that “this is not the end”. “Yeh yahan khatam nahi hoga. Aankada kam se kam 15 ya 16 tak jayega (This will not end here. The body count will rise to at least 15 or 16),” says one of the villagers, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Krishan and his aides, including his wife Guddi, 48, and son Paramjit, 27, are absconding. Krishan’s brother Rajesh, alias Raju, 48, a beldar (attendant) with Haryana’s water supply department, is the only member of the family left in the village. He lives in a dilapidated house, a short distance from Bimla’s. Terrified of being attacked, he says, “My wife and daughters have gone to stay with my in-laws, near Delhi. I haven’t had anything to do with my brother Krishan or his family for many years. But I’m related by blood to Krishan and they (Bimla’s family) may kill me to avenge their family members’ killings.”

In Bimla’s house too, the trauma of those who remain is palpable. The family no longer dares to step outside the main gate of their two-room house, for fear of being attacked. Sitting on her cot in a dimly-lit room, Bimla recalls how the assailants broke open the wooden door of the room, dragged her husband Balbir Singh out and shot him dead in the village’s main street, just a few yards from the house. Three more cots have now been placed in the same room, for her brother-in-law Surinder, his wife Kamla and Hoshiyar’s son Vikas. In a room on the roof, four cots accommodate four armed policemen.

Hoshiyar Singh’s house, which is nearby, is now locked. “We have all decided to stay together. We shall live and die together. We do not know when the assailants will attack again,” says Vikas, a postgraduate from MDU, Rohtak. Surinder too has locked up his house to stay with Bimla.

The feud began in April 2017 during the sarpanch elections. Balbir’s son Praveen and Krishan, who, according to villagers, has a reputation as a “hot head”, were supporting different candidates. The two got into an argument, followed by a scuffle. “Eventually, Praveen’s candidate won. Krishan nursed a grudge against Praveen. Finally, he killed my son on April 20, 2017,” says Bimla.

Krishan, his son Paramjit and seven others, who were arrested on charges of murder and criminal conspiracy under provisions of the Arms Act in the IPC, were granted bail earlier this year. Fearing a bloody battle between the two families, village elders and the panchayat tried to intervene. Their efforts proved to be in vain, after Krishan’s son Pradeep and his two friends, Akshay and Ravi were killed on April 16. Krishan accused Balbir and Hoshiyar’s sons of the triple murder, following which police arrested Jitender, Hoshiyar’s son Satpal and their friend Naveen.

Balbir’s brother-in-law Surinder claims that his family was not involved in the murders of Pradeep and his friends. Vikas adds, “Krishan named Jitender and Satpal and both were picked up by the Sonipat Police and then handed over to the Uttar Pradesh Police. There was no fair probe”.

Village sarpanch Manjita says that after the first murder, a panchayat was convened where Krishan admitted his guilt and agreed to financially compensate Praveen’s parents. “Bimla’s family, including Balbir and Hoshiyar, had agreed, but she did not. She wanted legal action against the accused,” she said, adding, “Praveen and his friend Naveen were the original targets. While Praveen was shot dead, Naveen escaped. Later, Naveen and his friends killed Pradeep. The village believes that Satpal and Jitender were not involved in Pradeep’s murder.”

Bimla’s family claims that the police protection they had since Praveen was murdered, was removed on the eve of polling for the Lok Sabha elections and that after the elections, despite repeated requests for security cover, it was not restored until after Balbir was killed on June 4.

Vikas alleges, “After my uncle Balbir was shot dead, my father Hoshiyar again approached police and told them that he was next. But, police did not heed his requests. Finally they came and killed my father, mother”.

Inspector Sandeep, SHO of Gohana Sadar police station, was transferred immediately after Hoshiyar, Nirmala and Surinder were murdered. Four armed policemen were deployed at Bimla’s home where the entire family now lives.
“Since these murders took place at night, at least 10 armed policemen patrol the streets from 9 pm to 5 am everyday. A PCR van is also deployed in the village to avoid any untoward incident,” says one of the policemen deployed for the family’s security.

Sushila Lamba, Deputy Superintendent of Police, Gohana, refuted the family’s allegations of police’s negligence. “There was no request for security from Balbir’s brothers. Otherwise, we had not refused it and would have deployed security at their residence too. We deployed security at Balbir’s residence for protection of his remaining family members immediately after he was shot dead”.

Regarding the accused who are absconding, DSP Lamba added, “We are still conducting raids to nab them. So far, they remain at large.”

At the other end of the village, Kamlesh sits on her cot at home. Her nephew Ravi, alias Dhaula, had gone to Haridwar with Krishan’s son Pradeep and another local youth Akshay. They never returned alive, their bodies eventually turning up in a canal in UP.

A teary-eyed Kamlesh said, “We do not want to pursue this case any further. Ravi’s parents have abandoned their house and left the village. We do not know where have they gone. They fear that they may also be attacked or be harassed by the police. They may be accused of having a hand in the killing of Balbir, Hoshiyar, Nirmala and Surinder. But they are innocent. In fact, Ravi’s uncles Om Prakash and Karanbir too have locked their homes and moved out of the village fearing that they may also be targeted.”

Akshay’s father Ravinder Singh Malik works as a technician at AIIMS, New Delhi. A few months ago, Akshay, who was to turn 20 in August this year, had joined his father at the institution to work as a contractual lift operator. Ravinder says, “We paid the price of the rivalry between these two families. Akshay was my only son. He was killed. What will I get from pursuing his case? I have accepted my fate. We performed his last rites and that was the end for us. We have nothing to say about who killed him and why he was killed.”