Former village sarbank Ram Singh Chaudhary, his second wife and two other members of his family were killed before their bodies caught fire inside an SUV near Rajasthan’s Ajmer district, police said on Thursday.
Chaudhry’s first wife, son and daughter were arrested in connection with the killings, with investigators pointing to a long-standing internal feud within the family.
A charred four-wheel drive vehicle was found near the highway
The incident came to light in Shree Rampura village, about 60 kilometers from Ajmer city, after a Mahindra Scorpio car was found engulfed in flames on a highway about 500 meters from where the family lives, news agency PTI reported.
Police said that three charred bodies were recovered from inside the car, while a fourth body was found dumped in a nearby field.
The deceased have been identified as former sarpanch Ram Singh Chaudhary (45), his mother, former sarpanch Bose Devi (85), his second wife Surjyan Devi (40), and his niece Mahima.
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Superintendent of Police (SP), Harsh Vardhan Agarwala, said the case initially appeared to be an accidental fire, but the investigation soon pointed to murder.
The first wife and children are “molested” by the victim
HT I learned that the victim, Ram Singh Chaudhary, allegedly subjected his first wife, Sunita, and children to physical and mental abuse for years. He assaulted them again on Wednesday night, after which the accused allegedly planned the murders.
Police said suspicions increased after family members gave conflicting accounts of the incident and displayed unusual behavior in the aftermath.
Investigators claimed that Sunita was pretending to cry, while her son was seen calmly drinking tea. The police also noted that none of the accused initially approached the location where the burned car was found.
Police suspect that the four victims were killed inside the house using a sharp agricultural weapon, and their throats were allegedly cut during the attack.
According to investigators, the accused later pulled diesel from a tractor, loaded the bodies into the Scorpio SUV and drove the vehicle about 500 meters from the house before setting it on fire in an attempt to destroy evidence.
A quarrel, then a murder plot
Investigators said Ram Singh married Sunita in 2004 before marrying Surjyan Devi in 2019, a development that allegedly deepened tensions within the family over the years.
According to the police, Ram Singh lived with his two wives in the same house, and tensions within the family often led to frequent quarrels. Investigators suspect the murders occurred late Wednesday night after another domestic dispute.
“Ram Singh had two wives, and there was a dispute in the family over this. Our investigation revealed that the first wife and her children had an argument with Ram Singh and his mother,” the agency said.
He added: “When the police went to Ram Singh’s house, his first wife said that he had gone to the hospital with his mother, who was suffering from chest pain.”
Investigators believe Ram Singh was first attacked with a sharp weapon during the argument. When his mother and other family members tried to intervene, they too were attacked.
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“After the bodies were recovered, local residents shared various information about domestic violence and frequent quarrels that were happening between Ram Singh and Sunita,” the agency quoted another police officer as saying.
The officer added that the accused claimed during interrogation that Ram Singh used to torture Sunita and often quarreled with her.
Ram Singh’s first wife Sunita, his daughter Sarita and his 17-year-old son have been detained for questioning in connection with the murders, police said. Further investigations are underway to determine the exact sequence of events and individual roles in the killings.
(With inputs from Abhijeet Dev)
