LUCKNOW: An elderly man and his live-in partner were murdered allegedly by his sons and grandsons following a land dispute in Madiaon in the wee hours of Tuesday. The deceased were identified as Ram Dayal (70) and Shanti Devi (60) of Semra Garhi in Madioan.
Police have arrested Ram Dayal’s sons Ram Milan, Praveen Kumar and Santosh, and grandsons Rahul and Avnish.
Police officials probing the case said the accused were agitated as Ram Dayal was planning to give his entire property to his live-in partner Shanti Devi’s sons from her first marriage.
Lucknow police commissioner D K Thakur said the police arrested the accused a few hours after the incident. “They have confessed to the crime,” he added.
“Ram Dayal had 6.5 biswa agricultural land at a prominent location in Itaunja. He sold the land for Rs 57 lakh allegedly after being persuaded by Shanti Devi. Ram Dayal deposited Rs 11.5 lakh in his bank account and gave Rs 4 lakh to Monu, one of Shanti’s sons, while the other was identified as Sanjay,” Thakur said.
“The news of land deal infuriated Ram Dayal’s wife and her sons. Around 9pm on Monday, the accused confronted Ram Dayal and asked him to cancel the deal. When he refused to do so and Shanti Devi told them that they would not get anything from Ram Dayal’s remaining property, the accused strangulated the couple,” he added.
Shanti’s son Sanjay informed police control room about the murders. He later told cops that Ram Dayal used to have verbal spats with his sons and his wife over property.