Hoshiarpur: Woman, infant son killed, 3 injured as neighbour sets house on fire

A woman in her mid thirties and her infant son were killed while three other family members were injured critically after their neighbour set their house on fire at Ishar Singh Colony of Hoshiarpur’s Tanda town on Sunday.

The deceased were identified as Rajwant Kaur and 11-month-old Harmanpreet Singh.

Police said the accused, Joginder Singh (42), fled from the spot after the incident. Later, he consumed celphos tablets and was admitted to the Hoshiarpur civil hospital.

As per information, Joginder had an altercation with his neighbour and Rajwant’s father-in-law Lachhman Singh (65) early in the morning after which he injured the latter by pelting him with bricks. He then barged into Lachhman’s house and set on fire a bedroom in which the family members were sleeping.

While Harmanpreet Singh died on the spot, Rajwant, her mother-in-law Gurdev Kaur, aged around 60, and her children Jaskaran Singh (8) and Parminder Kaur (11) were injured. Rajwant died receiving treatment late in evening.

Their neighbours rushed the injured to hospital with the help of the police. All the injured were later referred to the Christian Medical College and Hospital (CMCH) and the Dayanand Medical College and Hospital (DMCH) in Ludhiana. Doctors in the civil hospital said all patients were in a critical condition.

Lachhman’s son Kuldip Singh, who had gone to another city to attend a wedding when the incident took place, told the police that his family objected to Joginder’s ‘immoral activities’ which had led to animosity between them.

Senior superintendent of police (SSP) J Elanchazhian said a case was registered against Joginder under Sections 302 (murder), 436 (mischief by fire) and 427 (causing damage to property) of the Indian Penal Code.

“We have learnt that the accused has consumed poison and is also suffering from burn injuries. We will arrest him after assessing his medical condition,” the SSP said. He said the police had found kerosene spill over from the spot.

Sources revealed that Joginder’s wife had committed suicide about six months ago. After her death, he had left his two children with his mother in Ludhiana. He did lottery business at Bhogpur, it has been learnt.

(The story has been updated)