A man hanged himself to death from a tree after murdering his wife and two sons in Uttar Pradesh's Ballia, news agency IANS reported on Tuesday. According to the police, the victim was identified as Shrawan Ram, 35. He was a resident of Devdih village under Bansdih police station in Ballia district.
According to IANS, a local resident had informed the police that Shrawan was brutally assaulting his wife and her children, after which the police rushed to Devdih village. Upon searching Shrawan's home and the surrounding area, the police found his body hanging from a tree branch in an orchard.
The bodies of his wife, Shashikala, 30, and their two sons, seven-year-old Surya Ram and four-month-old Chatthu, were found in a pool of blood, IANS reported. The woman and children had been attacked with a sharp-edged weapon.
Ballia Superintendent of Police (SP), S. Anand, stated that the incident took place over an old dispute between Shrawan Ram and his wife. A suicide note was found in Ram's pocket in which he confessed to the murder of his wife and children in the middle of a family dispute before taking his own life.
Ram's brother informed the police that the marital life of Ram and Shashikala had been troubled for several years, which led to a previous court case, as per IANS. Nearly 18 months ago, a compromise had been reached, and Shashikala had resumed living with her husband. Despite this, the couple continued to quarrel, and their dispute escalated, leading to the incident. The SP added that the investigation is ongoing and that the bodies have been sent for post-mortem examination.
In another incident, a 15-year-old girl was allegedly raped by a man in a village in UP's Pilibhit, police said on Monday. The accused has been arrested, they added. According to news agency PTI, the victim's father alleged in a police complaint that when his teenage daughter was at home on Friday night, a man came to their house and took her along with him on the pretext of some work, the police said.