Four people were arrested in connection with two murders committed during the last three months to stir up communal disharmony in Khandwa in Madhya Pradesh. The murders took place after the death of a Hindu group leader during a clash between two communities early in May, police said.
After a Hindu group leader Rajesh Phoomali was killed, the Khandwa police linked back two separate murders in July and August to his, said a report by the Hindustan Times. Khandwa is located 271 km south-west of state capital Bhopal.
Khandwa Superintendent of Police Vivek Singh said Phoolmali’s murder in May led to the killing of Abdul Hafeez as revenge in July, whose murder in turn led to the killing of Dhanraj Kanade the next month. Singh said both Hafeez and Kanade were innocent and had no links to the Hindu leader’s murder.
On May 18, a clash between two religious groups resulted in Phoolmali’s murder, who died in a hospital on May 31. The reason behind the clash was a social media post that allegedly hurt the religious sentiments of one community. The police had arrested 24 people in connection with the clash and murder, according to the town inspector of Kotwali police station Neeraj Mandloi.
Hafeez’s body was found by the police near a railway line on July 20, with stabs and gunshot wounds. He had been a truck driver and Singh said six people, including Nikhil Deware and Amit Jain, were arrested on September 3 for the murder. The motive was to take revenge for Phoolmali’s killing.
Kanade’s body was later found with stab wounds on August 10. He was a resident of Chhota Aanwaar Padmkund ward in Khandwa and died at the Khandwa hospital.
Police said Sohel alias Sonu and main accused Forez — both residents of Khandwa — were arrested on August 11 and August 13 with the help of CCTV footage. During interrogation, the two confessed to have killed Kanade to avenge Hafeez’s murder.
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