Rajkot: Ex-sarpanch killed in land dispute in Kutch

RAJKOT: A dispute over farm boundaries took an ugly turn in Kutch when a former sarpanch was brutally hacked to death by a group of nearly 28 people on the outskirts of Taga village of Rapar taluka on Thursday.
Police said the group of assailants led by Haji Fakir Mohammed Hingroja, Nazar Mamad Hingroja, Din Mamad Hingroja and Tar Mamad Hingroja attacked 50-year-old Sajan Gaghala (50).
“They were lying in wait for Gaghala on the way to his farm. When Gaghala drove to the spot in his tractor, they dragged him down from the tractor and hacked him with swords, scythes, axes, knives and iron pipes. Gaghala died on the spot,” said A P Jadeja, sub-inspector with Adesar police station.
Preliminary investigation suggested that there was a bitter dispute over marking the boundaries of the farms belonging to Gaghala and the accused.
The incident sparked off a widespread protest among the members of the Rabari community who had thronged the government hospital in Rapar. The community members, who had come from Rapar, Samakhiyali and Adesar, initially refused to claim the body, demanding the immediate arrest of the assailants. However, after the police promised them of action, they accepted the body.