Kawardha, A man was killed and his family members were injured when some villagers attacked them and set their house on fire in Chhattisgarh’s Kabirdham district on Sunday, police said.
Some policemen were also injured when stones were hurled at them, following which 40 residents of Loharidih village were taken into custody, an official said.
Preliminary investigation suggested that the attack on Raghunath Sahu was triggered by suspicion that he had killed another villager Kachru Sahu, who was found hanging from a tree in nearby Bijatola village in Balaghat district of Madhya Pradesh, the official said.
Inspector General of Police Deepak Jha told PTI that Kachru Sahu had gone to Bijatola on Saturday for an unknown reason after informing his family members that he would return at night.
“After being alerted about his death this morning, we communicated to Balaghat police to conduct an appropriate investigation. Prima facie it seems to be a case of suicide,” Jha said.
Subsequently, police personnel went to Loharidih and informed Kachru Sahu’s family about the incident and returned, he said.
“At around 11:30 am, police received information that a large number of villagers from the same village have launched an attack on a villager, identified as Raghunath Sahu, and his family members and set their house on fire,” the IG said, adding a police team was rushed to the spot.
Amid resistance and stone pelting, police personnel managed to rescue three members of the Sahu family, while Raghunath Sahu was reported missing, Jha said.
Among the rescued persons, Raghunath Sahu’s wife and another family member were admitted to a hospital for injuries, he said.
Later, a charred body was recovered from the burnt house which prima facie seems to be of Raghunath Sahu’s. However, DNA samples will be sent for examination to confirm his identity, Jha said.
The exact reason for the attack on the Sahu family was yet to be ascertained. However some villagers told police that they were angry with Raghunath over some land encroachment-related issues, he said.
A case has been registered and further investigation is underway, the IG said.
“40 villagers have been taken into custody in connection with the violence and are being interrogated,” Jha said, adding that the situation is under control in the village.
Another police officer said around 400 policemen have been deployed in the village.
Preliminary investigation suggests that villagers targeted Raghunath Sahu suspecting that he murdered Kachru Sahu and hanged him from a tree over an alleged land dispute, the officer added.
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