Nanded family deaths: Two sons killed parents, then committed suicide due to financial stress
Nanded (PTI): The probe into the deaths of four members of a family in Maharashtra's Nanded district has revealed that two siblings ended their lives by jumping in front of a train after strangling their parents at home, the murder-suicide tragedy being triggered by financial stress, a police official said on Saturday.
At around 8am on Thursday, the bodies of Ramesh Sonaji Lakhe (51) and his wife Radhabai Lakhe (45) were discovered on a cot in their home at Jawala Murar village in Mudkhed tehsil here, while the bodies of their sons, Umesh (25) and Bajrang (23), were subsequently found on tracks near Mugat railway station, a few kilometres away from the village.
"Our probe and post mortem reports have confirmed that Umesh and Bajrang strangled their parents at home while the couple was asleep and later committed suicide by jumping in front of a moving train," Barad police station inspector Dattatray Manthale told PTI.
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The official said Ramesh Lakhe was reportedly suffering from paralysis and remained chronically ill, which had caused deep financial impact on the family.
The official said statements were being recorded as part of the probe, including that the of shopkeeper from whom the two brothers bought betel nut sachets in the early hours of Thursday while on their way to the tracks where they ended their lives.
An official connected to the probe said it is likely that the sons killed their parents and then ended their own lives over the financial stress the family was facing.
Umesh and Bajrang have been charged with murder, the official said, adding that all angles are being probed.
(Assistance for overcoming suicidal thoughts is available on the state’s health helpline 104, Tele-MANAS 14416.)
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EC hands over probe into gherao of seven judicial officers in Bengal's Malda to NIA
Kolkata (PTI): The Election Commission of India on Thursday handed over the probe into the gherao of the seven judicial officers in West Bengal's Malda district to the NIA, following a Supreme Court directive.
Observing that West Bengal was the "most polarised state", the Supreme Court delivered a stinging indictment of the state administration after seven judicial officers engaged in SIR exercise were held hostage by protesters in Malda district and directed a CBI or NIA probe into the incident.
In an April 2 letter to the National Investigating Agency, the poll body referred to the apex court's order and directed it to probe the Wednesday incident.
Talking to PTI, a top official of the poll body said the NIA team would reach West Bengal on Friday.
Slamming the state administration for its "complete failure" and inaction over the "deplorable" gherao and attack on the officers during the Special Intensive Revision(SIR) of the voters list, the court also asked the EC to "requisition adequate Central Forces and deploy them at all places where judicial officers are adjudicating the objections".
West Bengal will have a two-phase poll -- on April 23 and 29.
The Supreme Court further said the incident was a "brazen attempt not only to browbeat the judicial officers" but also amounted to a challenge to the authority of this Supreme Court.
The top court gave the order after it took suo motu cognisance of a letter from the Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court detailing a harrowing night where the judicial officers, including three women and a five-year-old child, were held captive by a mob for over nine hours without food or water.
The incident occurred during the SIR exercise in the Kaliachowk area of Malda district, and as per the order, seven judicial officers were gheraoed by "anti-social elements" at a BDO office starting at 3:30 PM on Wednesday.
The officers were rescued by security forces around midnight on Wednesday after they were gheraoed over the alleged deletion of names from the electoral rolls, officials said.
