Man kills woman, daughter over marriage refusal

NAVI MUMBAI: A 26-year-old truck driver allegedly stabbed to death a 37-year-old mother and her 18-year-old daughter after the mother refused to marry her daughter with him on Friday morning in Pargaon in Panvel. They all are from the Hingoli district. The accused also attacked the girl’s 41-yearold father with the chopper and the latter suffered severe injuries in his hands. According to the police, the girl Sujata Balkhade, her mother Surekha Balkhade, father Siddharth Balkhade and her three other siblings stayed in the same neighbourhood as the 26-yearold accused. They are all from Hingoli district of Maharashtra and they knew each other for the past several years.

Shivraj Patil, deputy commissioner of police (zone 2) said, “The accused is a truck driver and his wife had passed away in October, last year. He wanted to marry Sujata. However, her family was against it.”

He added that around three months ago, the girl’s family and the accused had been to their native place in Hingoli, and the accused kept asking for marriage. Meanwhile, the girl’s family returned to Panvel around a month ago, the accused stayed back. “But the accused kept calling girl’s father over the phone from Hingoli for the wedding. However, the family did not budge before him,” said Patil.

Around 8.30 am on Friday, the accused reached the girl’s house with a chopper in the hand and started arguing for marriage. When he was resisted by the family, he attacked with the chopper. “Since they were residing on rent, the father went out to inform their landlord about the incident. Meanwhile, in a fit of rage, the accused then attacked the girl and her mother. He stabbed the girl on her throat multiple times and then slit her mother’s throat. Both the women died on the spot and the accused then ran away,” Patil said. –