32-year-old woman poisons 3 daughters and self:Husband, sisters and parents give conflicting accounts; probe intensifies

A tragic incident in Hirwar village of Shahdol has left four members of a family dead. Four graves near a house in the village now hold the bodies of 32-year-old Anita Singh and her three young daughters, Ritika (7), Krishna Kumari (4) and Arpita (2). According to the investigation, Anita allegedly gave pesticide to her three daughters before consuming the poison herself. Before taking the extreme step, she dressed all three children in new clothes. She also wore a new saree and burned household belongings, reducing them to ashes. The case has taken a new turn after the statement of elder daughter Ritika, recorded before her death. In her statement to the police, she reportedly spoke about frequent quarrels between her parents. Investigators are now focusing on Anita’s husband, Gokul Singh, whose statements have raised questions as he is said to have changed his version of events multiple times during the inquiry. Following the incident, a team from Dainik Bhaskar visited Hirwar village, located around 130 kilometres from the district headquarters. The team spoke with Anita’s husband Gokul Singh, father-in-law Ram Narayan, her sister, and Papaudha police station in-charge Balkrishna to understand the developments in the case. The bodies of all four were buried near the house As soon as one entered Hirwar village from Papaundh, there was a crowd at a house on the main road. As we moved towards the house, our gaze fell 100 meters away from it. Here, the process of burying four bodies was underway right next to the house. People were sitting and whispering. Anita’s husband, Gokul Singh, was also present there. What was surprising was that even after eating his three daughters and wife, there was no wrinkle on his face. Not only that, there were no tears either. The process of burying the three innocent daughters was underway. A large grave had been dug. Upon asking, it was learned that Anita was buried in it. When Gokul was asked why his wife was buried when the Gond community practices cremation, he could not answer. He stood waiting for the burial process to finish. When I came home, everything was ruined Anita’s father-in-law, Ram Narayan, said that on the day of the incident, he had gone to Tikwa village with his wife Lalita. When they returned, they saw smoke rising from the house. They moved towards the house. Going inside, they saw that household items, documents, clothes, photos, utensils, and grain had been reduced to ashes in a pit outside the house. In one room, daughter-in-law Anita and two granddaughters, Arpita and Krishna Kumari were lying unconscious. The elder daughter Ritika was also in an unconscious state. She came to me and narrated the whole incident. We informed the people around us. The police were also informed. She had an angry nature, lived separately in the house Ram Narayan said that his daughter-in-law used to get very angry. She could not control herself. She used to fight with us over small things. Son Gokul also used to send us money for expenses, and she often fought over that. She was also addicted to alcohol. Because of this, she lived separately. We lived separately in the same house. We also cooked separately. Husband said We talked four days ago, there was no fight Anita’s husband, Gokul Singh, works in a cement factory in Chandrapur, Maharashtra. He had gone there about a year ago. He came home two months ago. After the incident, he is normal. He says that it is no one’s fault. His wife was short-tempered, so she might have taken such a step. We didn’t have any dispute. There were no quarrels at home either. We spoke four days ago. Anita had called, but I was sleepy then. I told her to call later. Later, her phone was switched off. In the meantime, we didn’t talk. Gokul said that Anita’s brother, Ramgopal, has also been living with him for a month. He used to see that I tried to fulfill every wish of my wife. If she took a loan from somewhere, I would repay it. I had admitted our daughters to a private school. They were not deprived of education due to the lack of government schools nearby. I used to pay when she bought things from the shop. Still, she always felt a shortage of money. Sister said Brother-in-law used to torture her Anita has three sisters. The eldest sister, Ramkali, is also married into Gokul’s family. Ramkali said that Gokul used to trouble her sister. The youngest sister, Beti Bai, said that the brother-in-law used to beat her sister the most. It’s been 9 years since the marriage. He never kept my sister happy. When the second daughter was in the womb, he beat her and threw her out of the house in the rain, I was also with her that day. He used to torture my sister every day. Wish! If she had come when he called, her life would have been saved Beti Bai, crying, says that the night before the incident, Didi had called her home. She couldn’t come. If she had come home when Didi called, perhaps such a big incident wouldn’t have happened. When she called me, she wasn’t upset. I thought that I often stay at Didi’s place, so she must be calling me for that reason. Thinking this, I didn’t come. He used to send 1500 rupees a month, how would they manage? Prem Lal Singh, Anita’s father, who lives in Barhata village, says that son-in-law Gokul used to send 1500 rupees a month to his daughter for expenses. Two daughters used to go to school. Because the daughter was young, she couldn’t do much labor. When she asked her husband for money for expenses, disputes would arise. The son-in-law often told my daughter to die. Compelled, we sometimes sent her grain from our home. With three daughters, how could she possibly manage on 1500 rupees? Call Detail Report will reveal the secret of death Papaund Police Station in-charge Brijendra Mishra, who is investigating the case, said that the matter is complicated. No one was present at home at the time of the incident. Based on the last statement of the elder daughter, the police are engaged in the investigation. The husband is repeatedly changing his statements. The police will reach a conclusion after receiving the statements of the maternal family members and the CDR. Investigation in the matter is ongoing.