The Chhattisgarh government has handed over the investigation into the killing of three people, including a businessman, linked to a rivalry between two families over sand mining operations in central India’s Kuria district in June, to the Central Bureau of Investigation. The state Home Department issued a notification transferring the investigation on Tuesday.
Bharat Singh (60), businessman Virendra Pratap Singh (32) and Nagendra Singh (53) were killed and two others seriously injured after a dumper rammed their SUV, jamming its doors and preventing those inside from escaping. The attackers then allegedly poured fuel on the four-wheel drive vehicle and set it on fire. Those who tried to escape by smashing windows were attacked with sharp weapons.
Bharat Singh died after being trapped inside the burning car. Nagendra Singh and Virendra Pratap Singh later succumbed to their injuries. Four members of the rival Tripathi family have been arrested in connection with the killings.
Police described the violence as the culmination of a long-running dispute between the Singh and Tripathi families over control of their sand mining and stone crushing business. Police said tensions erupted after a confrontation between members of the two families on June 16. Later that night, Bharat Singh and his associates met with the rival group after a telephone conversation. Singh’s family had been demanding a CBI investigation into this case.
