Neighbour breaks in, kills three of family with an axe in CG village

Raipur: In a terrifying incident, three members of a family, including a nine-year-old boy, were hacked to death on Tuesday in Chhattisgarh's Sarangarh-Bilaigarh district, while two others, including a pregnant woman, were battling for life, after a neighbour and relative allegedly broke into their house and attacked them with an axe, police said.The incident took place in the wee hours at Jhal village in the Dongarpali region.Police said the accused, identified as Tulsi Sarthi (26), sneaked into the house while the family members were asleep before unleashing a brutal assault.The deceased were identified as Mando Bai Sarthi (62), Rajesh Sarthi (36) and Prashant Sarthi (9), while Kumar Sai Sarthi (65) and Shakuntala Sarthi (30), Rajesh's pregnant wife, were left critically injured at the scene. Both were admitted to Raigarh Medical College where their condition was stated to be critical.Senior officers, including SP Anjaneya Varshney and ASP Nimisha Pandey, reached the spot with a police team after the killings were reported. A forensic unit was also called in to collect evidence, the police said, adding that security was stepped up in the area as panic spread in the village.According to the sleuths, the accused tried to flee after the killings but was tracked down and arrested. During the follow-up action, an axe allegedly used in the crime was recovered from a pond in a forest area, the investigating officers said.The preliminary probe pointed to a long-running dispute between the two families, the police said, adding that tensions had been simmering for about five years following an altercation involving abuse, according to neighbourhood locals. However, officers said the motive for the murderous assault was still being verified, adding that all possible angles were being looked into. Meanwhile, the accused's father, Shaukilal, told police that his son works as a daily-wage labourer at a hotel and had returned to the village three days ago. He claimed there was no "major dispute", adding that Tulsi left home early in the morning with an axe, telling the family he was going to the forest, before screams were heard from the neighbour's house.A case was registered in connection with the attack, the police said, adding that a probe was underway and the accused was being grilled for possible leads into the motive. A post-mortem was conducted on the deceased, the sleuths said, adding that the reports were awaited.