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Crime/ S Hussain

Of Love, Family and Murder

As gory details of the Navi Panvel killings emerge, even the bloodiest Bollywood movie would pale in comparison to what happened on May 31.

Sixty-year-old Maya Kaur got her son-in-law, his brother and their parents killed in the most cold-blooded manner just because her daughter had married against her wish.

Ravindra Singh Matharu and Rajvinder Kaur fell in love and subsequently got married in July 97. Since Ravindra belonged to the Vishwakarma community and the girl was a Jat, which is regarded as a higher caste among the Sikhs, Rajvinder's parents and family members had bitterly opposed the marriage. They repeatedly threatened the couple, initially to no avail.

Towards the end of 1997 though, the couple buckled under the pressure of constant threats and separated. Matharu continued staying with his parents in sector 12 of Navi Panvel, while Rajvinder went back to her parents in Kalamboli.

After staying apart for a year-and-a-half, the couple reunited on April 12 this year. Once again, Rajvinder's parents and relatives began brandishing threats. This time, however, the couple maintained a brave stance and did not give in to the threats.

Around 10.30 pm on Sunday, May 31, Rajvinder's mother Maya Kaur and her aunt Nirmal Kaur visited her at the Matharu residence. The duo demanded back the gold jewellery they had gifted to Rajvinder during her stay at Kalamboli. When Rajvinder returned all the ornaments including a gold chain and a ring to them without demur, her mother told her that her maternal uncle, Bhagwan Singh, wanted to see her.

They went out to call Bhagwan Singh. Bhagwan entered the house with five burly Sikhs, armed with choppers, swords, a gun, a huge knife and a long iron rod, the kind used by construction labourers.

Even before Rajvinder or her husband Matharu could make sense of what was happening Bhagwan whipped out a revolver and fired on Ravindra who collapsed in a heap.

The Matharu house is a double-storeyed house. Two rooms are on the ground floor, while one spacious hall is on the first floor in which the couple lived.

Hearing the gunshot, Ravindra's father Dilip Singh rushed upstairs. But Maya Kaur was ready. She ordered Jaspal Singh to handle Dilip Singh. Jaspal Singh inflicted such a blow to Dilip Singh with the iron rod that it pierced his eyes and protruded from the back side of his head, spilling out his brains in the process.

Dilip Singh's heart-rending screams brought his wife Lakhwinder and younger son Harwinder Singh rushing upstairs. However, the assailants were in no mood to relent: while one of them stabbed Lakhwinder with a chopper in her abdomen, then at her chest and throat, Bhagwan hacked at Harwinder with a sword.

A horried Rajvinder, who was grappling with her aunt Nirmal Kaur until then, managed to push her aside and pounce on her uncle. However, her mother grabbed her by her hair and pushed her from the first floor balcony. Rajvinder landed hard on the ground and became unconscious.

"The savageness of the assault, where the innards of the victims' spilled out, took us by surprise,'' recalled assistant commissioner of police, Panvel division, Sahebrao Patil. After killing all four of them, the assailants and the two women escaped.

"Surprisingly, when all this was happening and the victims were screaming for help none of the neighbours came to their help," said senior police inspector of Panvel police station, R P Shivdas.

Rajvinder was rushed to the Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Hospital at Kalamboli where she survived. After regaining consciousness, Rajvinder gave a statement in which she described the gruesome incident in detail and implicated her mother, aunt and uncles.

Panvel police arrested Maya Kaur and Nirmal Kaur and charged them with murder, attempt to murder and some other counts of the Indian Penal Code, including the Arms Act. The police have launched a manhunt for the assailants.

The dead bodies were sent to the city municipal hospital at Panvel for postmortem. The police have recovered two empty cartridges from the spot which indicated that two rounds were fired from the country made pistol.

Later, the Panvel police arrested Bhagwan Singh and Jagpal Singh and seized a country made pistol and live cartridges from them. Both confessed to the killings in their statement to the police.

At least three police teams are engaged in a manhunt for the three remaining fugitives. They have spread out to Bombay, Bhiwandi and Nashik. Although the police are not very certain about the identity of the trio they ruled out the possibility of the trio being hired men. "I think all the accused were related to each other and none of them were hired to do the killing," ACP Patil said.

Rajvinder has reportedly gone to Punjab to live with her relatives, while Nirmal Kaur and Maya Kaur have been remanded to judicial custody. Although more than a month has passed since the incident, sector 12 is yet to recover from the tragedy.

An eerie calm has descended in the vicinity of Matharu's home. The neighbours refused to speak about the slain family. People talk in hushed tones and are not even willing to give directions to Matharu's residence.

It is as though they are, through such studied silence, trying to exorcise this tragedy that has deeply affected them.

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