Staring, showing slippers row snowballs into fatal clash in Gwalior; one killed, 3 hurt

Bhopal: A minor dispute allegedly triggered by “staring” and showing slippers snowballed into a fatal clash in Madhya Pradesh’s Gwalior district, where four brothers allegedly opened fire on a neighbouring family, killing one person and injuring three others in Khureri village under Murar police station limits on Tuesday night.

Police said the incident occurred when members of the Kushwaha family were preparing to leave for a relative’s “bhat” ceremony. An argument reportedly broke out outside their house and quickly escalated into violence.

According to Murar sub-divisional officer of police Atul Kumar Soni, the Kushwaha and Baghel families had an old dispute related to a plot of land. On the day of the incident, members of the Kushwaha family were closing the shutter of their shop when the accused allegedly objected, claiming they were being stared at and insulted by being shown slippers. “This led to a verbal spat and then the Baghel family members went to their roof and, using their licensed weapon, fired at least 15-20 rounds,” Soni told TOI.