BHOPAL: Three days after five brothers aged between three and seven years were found dead in a well in Chikhli village in Sendhwa area of Barwani district, police investigations have revealed that it was their absconding father only who had killed them by pushing them into the well on October 9.
Revelations made by the accused Bhatarsingh (35) during the grilling by police brought to the fore that he himself pushed his five sons into the well in Rumalia close to his village.
While four sons were born from his first wife Sungi Bai, his youngest son Rohit was the only child from his second wife Sunita, who is reportedly pregnant again.
Further questioning revealed that Bharatsingh did the unimaginable act with his five sons particularly owing to strained relations with first wife, with whom he had noisy brawl just a few hours before the shocking incident.
Bhatarsingh who had married second wife Sunita four years back lived with her and youngest son Rohit, while first wife Sungi Bai lived at parents place with four sons Randeep, Sandeep, Pradeep and Rajesh. On October 9 Sungi Bai came with four children and started pressurizing Bhatarsingh to start living with them.
It led to a violent altercation between Bhatarsingh and Sungi Bai, after which she left the place, but Bhatarsingh stopped four sons from going with her. He then went to the house of second wife Sunita parents and tried to bring her back, but she refused to come, after which he brought the youngest son Rohit to his house.
Bhatarsingh later took all five children near the well, around 1.5 km from his house in Chikhli village and pushed them into the well. Out of guilt he then attempted to kill self by hanging through a tree, but couldn't succeed, after which he escaped from the spot.
Multiple police teams acting as per available evidence managed to track both Sangita and Sungi Bai and based on their statements and other evidence, tracked and nabbed Bhatarsingh on Friday night and cracked the crime, said Barwani district superintendent of police Vijay Khatri on Saturday.
A probe has also revealed that the accused father Bhatarsingh who worked as a labourer in adjoining Maharashtra was also tense owing to irregular employment, particularly as he had mortgaged his small piece of land.