Muslim man held for murder of widow, her minor son; saffron outfits see red

UNREST Hindu activists claim that the accused was trying to convert victims

A double murder of a widow and her 12-year-old son by a Muslim man in Sirohi district has become a flashpoint with Hindutva forces giving it a communal angle and holding a protest on Thursday demanding justice for the victims.

Scores of Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal workers and villagers gathered in Sirohi and held a protest claiming that the alleged murderer was sexually exploiting the victim and trying to convert her to Islam.

The widow, Vimla Devi, 33, and her son Akash, residents of Jawal village, were murdered by Hakim Khan who was arrested by police on January 3. Three persons, including the main accused Hakim Khan have been arrested, and were sent to seven-day police remand on Thursday.

“Vimla Devi had made Khan her brother. But he forced her into a relationship. He was trying to convert her to Islam but when she refused, he murdered her and her son,” Indrajit Singh of the VHP claimed.

VHP activists and some villagers from Jawal, 20 km from Sirohi, held a demonstration in Sirohi demanding that the case be handed over to a fast-track court and relatives of Vimla Devi be given Rs50 lakh compensation and a government job.

Sirohi SP Om Prakash, however, denied this. “Vimla Devi and Khan were in a relationship for eight years and she was pressurizing him to give her money, which led to fights, and he decided to get rid of her.”

Khan, 50 is a resident of Udd village, neighbouring Jawal. He is married and has two sons. He had rented a room in Vimla’s house where he used to wad quilts with cotton.

Barloot police station SHO Babulal said Khan purchased a new mobile and SIM on December 20 and took Vimla and her son for a day out to Sirohi on December 21. There he laced their ice creams with poison. When they fell unconscious, he took the bodies to the house of his friend Janaram Bhil in Padiv village. Then Khan, Bhil and his wife Sita Devi disposed Vimla’s body in Tharad village in Banaskantha district of Gujarat and Akash’s body in Mandwa near Udaipur.

Babulal said the matter came to light when Akash’s teacher came to his relative’s house to ask about his whereabouts as he had not appeared for the exams.

“The relatives then filed a missing person complaint on December 28 and we got the call details of Vimla from which we traced Khan’s number. We confronted him and he confessed to his crime,” said Babulal.

Khan has been booked for murder while Bhil and his wife have been booked for aiding and abetting the murder.

JAIPUR: He forced her into a relationship. He was trying to convert her to Islam but when she refused, he murdered her and her son Vimla Devi and Khan were in a relationship and she was pressurizing him to give her money, which led to fights, and he decided to get rid of her