UP man kills daughter-in-law for ‘socialising with villagers’

BAREILLY: A man killed his daughter-in-law over 'socialising with villagers' on Tuesday midnight and hanged himself hours later in a suspected case of suicide. The incident occurred in Hathipur Kuriya village of Shahjahanpur. Police said Rajpal Singh, 65, was upset with his son's wife, Sumitra, 26, for "participating in social events in the village".
On Tuesday night, Sumitra attended a wedding ceremony where she played the drums. The next morning, a heated argument broke out between her and Rajpal. In a fit of rage, Rajpal attacked her with an axe, hitting her on the neck. Sumitra died on the spot. Rajpal fled the scene after the incident. Subsequently, Sumitra's 7-year-old daughter informed neighbours who called the cops.
Rajpal's son Sarvesh had married Sumitra, a widow who hailed from Madhya Pradesh, seven months ago. She had a 7-year-old daughter, Ragini, from her previous marriage. This was Sarvesh's first marriage.
Ragini recounted that on Tuesday at 8 pm, her mother went to an event in the village. When she returned at around 1 am, Rajpal scolded her for being late, leading to an argument, during which he beat her up and attacked her with an axe, leading to her death. Ragini said that her grandfather left the house that night, and in the morning, he was also found hanging from a tree in a suspected case of suicide.
Mahendra Singh, station house officer of Kaant police station, under whose jurisdiction the area lies, said, "No suicide note was found from the spot, but circumstantial evidence suggests that Rajpal killed himself because of a sense of guilt. We are waiting for the victim's husband, a truck driver, to return from Hapur, before proceeding with the investigation."