55YROLD GOES ON RAMPAGE, KILLS 3 WITH AXE, ENDS LIFE

A 55-year-old tenant hacked to death three members of his landlord’s family and injured another four before consuming poison in Uttarakhand’s Haridwar district after midnight on Thursday, police said.

Police said Pratap Singh Thakur, who was apparently angry at not being treated “properly”, killed the landlord, his wife and their son while they were sleeping with an axe. He then attacked the landlord’s three daughters and their cousin. But, they escaped. Later, Thakur committed suicide by consuming poison at the house in Lahva village, some 120 km from Haridwar, police said.

Police said Thakur first entered the ground floor where his landlord, Raj Singh Saini and Saini’s 17-year-old son were sleeping. Thakur attacked and killed them with his axe, police said.

Quoting Saini’s daughters, who escaped, the police said, Thakur then entered the first floor room where the landlord’s wife Babli (48), daughters Lakshmi (12) and Aarti (20) were sleeping with their cousin Shivani (17). Thakur first attacked Babli, who died on the spot, and then attacked others, police said.

The three pushed him and ran away. Saini’s other daughter Mansi, who was sleeping on a verandah on the first floor, ran and locked herself in another room.

On Friday morning, the three girls who had fled informed the neighbours. Saini, a farmer, met Thakur in the village about 10 years ago.