Woman stabbed 13 times in Bhopal:Spiritual brother with past murder conviction accused of attack; commits suicide

A 45-year-old woman was stabbed to death in Bhopal’s Gautam Nagar area on Monday evening. The accused, identified as Pritam Kushwaha, attacked her with a knife and inflicted 13 injuries, including nine on the chest, three on the stomach and one on the neck. After committing the crime, he died by suicide by coming in front of a train. The incident took place around 5 PM under Gautam Nagar police station limits. Police reached the spot and began questioning family members. Station in-charge Mahendra Singh Thakur is supervising the investigation. Accused attacked when woman was alone at home The deceased, Durga Kushwaha, was a resident of East Nishatpura. Her husband, who works as a driver, and her son were not at home when the accused arrived on Monday evening. According to family members, Durga considered Pritam Kushwaha her ‘guru-bhai’/ fellow-disciple. He had been living at her house after being released from jail last year. Police said the accused took Durga to a nearby under-construction house on the pretext of cleaning work. Once inside one of the rooms, he attacked her repeatedly with a knife, killing her on the spot. Victim had asked accused to vacate house Durga’s daughter-in-law told police that the family had asked Pritam several times to vacate the house over the past six months. This had led to frequent disputes between him and the victim. “He did not want to leave the house. There were repeated arguments over this issue. On Monday evening, he took her to the under-construction building and killed her,” she said in her statement. Family members believe the murder was committed because the victim was pressuring the accused to move out. Accused had criminal past, villagers refused to accept him Durga’s son-in-law Mahesh Kushwaha said the accused was originally from Tendukheda village in Sagar district. He had earlier been convicted of killing his three children and had recently been released from jail. “When he returned to his village after release, the villagers did not allow him to stay there. He then came to Bhopal and began living with my mother-in-law, who knew him from the village and treated him like a spiritual brother,” he said. Police questioning family, probe underway Police said the accused fled after the murder and later died by suicide on railway tracks. His body has been sent for post-mortem examination. The woman’s body was also sent for autopsy. Police are collecting evidence from the crime scene and recording statements of family members and neighbours. Officials said further investigation is underway to establish the sequence of events and confirm all circumstances related to the crime.