3 hacked to death as family attacked with axe while sleeping in….

RAIPUR: 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 are fighting for their lives after a neighbour and relative allegedly broke into their house and attacked them with an axe, police said.

The incident occurred in the early hours at Jhal village in the Dongarpali region.Police said the accused, Tulsi Sarthi (26), entered the house while the family members were asleep and launched a sudden assault

The deceased have been identified as Mando Bai Sarthi (62), Rajesh Sarthi (36) and Prashant Sarthi (9). The injured are Kumar Sai Sarthi (65) and Shakuntala Sarthi (30), Rajesh’s wife, who is pregnant. Both are admitted to Raigarh Medical College in critical condition.

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 called to collect evidence, and security was increased in the area as panic spread through the village

Police said the accused tried to flee after the attack but was tracked and arrested. During the follow-up operation, an axe allegedly used in the crime was recovered from a pond in a nearby forest, investigators said.

Preliminary inquiries suggest a long-running dispute between the two families. Locals told police that tensions had simmered for around five years following an earlier altercation, though officers said the exact motive is still being verified and all angles are being examined.

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” and said 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.Police have registered a case and are questioning the accused. Post-mortem formalities have been completed, and further investigation is underway.