A 52-year-old man killed his wife, daughter-in-law and little granddaughter late on Wednesday night in Jariapalli village of Deogarh district in Odisha, police said, adding that the accused is on the run.
John Kujur, inspector-in-charge of Kondigolla police station, said Ramesh Jaria and his wife Gul (42) had an argument on Monday night, after which he chased her with a hammering tool he used in construction work.
“The woman ran to her daughter-in-law’s room to save herself. Ramesh hacked her and hit her on the head with the pestle, leading to her death. When the daughter-in-law tried to save Gul, she too was assaulted with the pestle and died on the spot. In the scuffle, the 4-year-old granddaughter also sustained serious injuries and died,” Kujur said.
Kogor added that the other deceased were Libby Mahakul, his daughter-in-law and his granddaughter.
The accused’s son, Deren Jaria, was absent when the incident occurred. Upon his return late that night, he discovered the bodies and informed Kondigolla police.
The police recovered the bodies and sent them to forensics.
Neighbors are questioned to reconstruct the sequence of events.
The police said that the accused often threatened to kill his wife. A police officer said: “It is believed that a family dispute was the main reason behind the accident. He was in a nervous mood and this often led to quarrels between him and his wife.”
