79-yr-old sets afire son, granddaughters over property dispute in Kerala

An elderly man killed his son and three other members of the family by setting their house on fire, allegedly over a property dispute, in Idukki in Kerala. The incident happened in the early hours of Saturday morning.

The accused’s son, daughter-in-law and two school-going granddaughters, who were sleeping inside the house, were charred to death, the police told PTI.

According to the police, Hamid, 79, hurled tiny bottles filled with petrol inside the house through the window after locking the house from outside. He then set the house on fire. He was arrested later.

Though one of the family members woke up noticing the fire and called for help, the neighbours could not rescue them due to the massive blaze, which quickly engulfed the house and its occupants.

One of the neighbours said that Hamid was seen throwing a bottle filled with petrol into the house.

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“It was a well-planned murder, as Hamid stocked petrol in at least five bottles to commit the crime and even emptied the water tank in the house to check any possible efforts to douse the flames. He even removed the bucket and rope to prevent neighbours from fetching water from the well for the rescue efforts,” a senior police officer told PTI.

“The scene inside the house was heart-breaking as the charred bodies of the father and the youngest daughter were found hugging each other tightly,” the police said.

“It was very difficult for us to separate the bodies for further investigation procedures,” the police said.

During the interrogation, Hamid admitted that he committed the gruesome crime over a family property with his son.

(With inputs from Agencies)