Husband hacks wife, 2 sons with axe, later commits suicide:Dispute over dance video; last call to relative resurfaces

Audio 1: “Watch this video of her. I’ve sent it to you. Don’t later say that I didn’t tell you.” Audio 2: “Look at these videos of her… She’s dancing with her face uncovered. Tomorrow she’ll dance naked. Watch this video. I’ve sent it to you. Don’t later ask who will be responsible for what happens.” These two audio messages were sent by Balram Singh Kushwah to Shrikrishna Kushwaha, the maternal uncle of his wife Ravita. Along with the audio clips, he also shared a video of Ravita dancing during a Bhagwat Katha event. He was extremely angry and was continuously abusing during the conversation. According to Shrikrishna Kushwaha, Balram called him more than 22 times that day. He chose not to answer, thinking tempers were high and that he would counsel him later. He never imagined the matter would escalate into such a horrific incident. On the night of June 26, in Kishanpur village of Morena district, 35-year-old Balram Singh Kushwah allegedly hacked his wife and two sons to death with an axe before reaching Shikarpur railway crossing and dying by suicide by jumping in front of a train. The dance video of Ravita is believed to have triggered the crime. Dainik Bhaskar has accessed several key audio recordings related to the case. To understand the sequence of events, the Bhaskar team spoke to family members, relatives and acquaintances of the deceased. Committed suicide after murdering wife and two sons Panic spread in Kishanpur village under Mata Basaiya police station limits on the morning of June 27 when the bodies of Balram Singh Kushwah (35), wife Ravita Kushwah (32), and sons Aarav (8) and Devu (5) were found in the courtyard of their house. A blood-stained axe was lying nearby, leading investigators to suspect that the three had been killed with the sharp-edged weapon. Police, forensic experts and senior officers rushed to the spot. Balram was missing from the house. A search operation was launched, and a few hours later his body was found on railway tracks near Shikarpur crossing. Preliminary investigation suggested he died after being hit by a train. Further investigation revealed that Balram himself had murdered his wife and two sons before taking his own life by jumping in front of a train. Police also found that Balram had been upset over Ravita dancing during a Bhagwat Katha organised in the village. A 3 minute 30 second video destroyed an entire family A Bhagwat Katha was organised at the Narsingh Temple in Kishanpur village from June 1 to June 7. Religious discourses were held during the day, while women participated in devotional programmes in the evening. During one such programme, Ravita danced to the song Peeker Shankar Ji Ki Booti at the request of other women. Someone recorded the 3-minute-30-second performance and sent it to Balram. A young man reportedly told him, “Bhabhi dances very well.” Balram became furious after watching the video. As soon as Ravita returned home, he snatched away her phone and assaulted her. Hearing the commotion, his mother Ramkali, who was sleeping outside the house, rushed inside and intervened to calm him down. The matter subsided temporarily, but the following day another argument broke out and Balram allegedly assaulted Ravita again. Ravita then called her father Malkhan Kushwah, who took her and the children back to her parental home.
Mother said – I wish I hadn’t slept outside that night, the family would have been saved Balram’s mother Ramkali Kushwah remains traumatised and is unable to stand without support. When the Bhaskar team visited the house, two people helped her come outside. She said, “I usually slept outside in the veranda because the milkman would arrive early in the morning and I would call my daughter-in-law to open the gate. Usually, she woke up before me and opened it herself. But that day the gate remained closed.” “I called out to her, but received no response. I knocked on the door and when nobody answered, I looked through a gap in the door. What I saw left me devastated.” “My grandsons Devu and Aarav were lying on a cot soaked in blood.” “I called the neighbours. They climbed over the boundary wall, entered the house and opened the door. Inside, Ravita was also lying in a pool of blood. A blood-stained axe was lying nearby. All three had been killed with the same weapon.” Police were informed immediately afterwards. Suspicion about Ravita had taken root in Balram’s mind Ravita’s maternal uncle Shrikrishna Kushwah said Balram had sent him the dance video on June 17. After sending it, Balram called and messaged him, saying, “I won’t keep her with me anymore. Get me divorced.” Shrikrishna said Balram continued calling him repeatedly, but he thought he would calm down with time. He said there had been disputes between the couple for nearly two and a half months, and after receiving the video Balram became even more aggressive. Shrikrishna said he had advised Ravita’s father to keep her at her parental home for some time. “I never imagined he would commit such a terrible crime. Balram was a quiet person. Relatives had intervened several times to reconcile the couple, but the disputes would resume after a few days.” Balram earlier worked as a tile mason in Pune, Maharashtra, and later moved to Bengaluru. He had returned to the village about three months ago and never went back to work. Ravita lived in the village with her two children and mother-in-law Ramkali. Father said – He used to say take your daughter away, otherwise I will kill her Ravita’s father Malkhan Kushwah said, “Balram seemed obsessed. He constantly suspected my daughter. Ravita was not the only woman dancing during the Bhagwat Katha. Other women danced as well. She danced alone only after being encouraged by someone.” “Someone recorded the video and sent it to Balram.” After watching the video, Balram allegedly assaulted Ravita and then called him, asking him to take his daughter away. The next day, he again beat her and threatened to kill her if she was not taken back. Malkhan said he arrived with relatives and brought Ravita and the two children home. On June 23, Balram arrived with relatives, apologised and assured them that he would not harass Ravita again. Trusting him, the family sent her back. Three days after returning home, Balram allegedly murdered his wife and two sons. Malkhan recalled, “On the day of the incident, Ravita’s uncle Shrikrishna called me and said, ‘Come to Kishanpur immediately. Balram has hacked Ravita and the two children to death with an axe.'” “I rushed there in the same condition I was in. By the time I reached, everything was over. He did exactly what he had threatened.” Two blows each on the children’s necks, four on the wife Forensic examination revealed that Balram inflicted two axe blows each on the necks of both sons, while Ravita sustained four axe injuries to her neck. The first blow was delivered while she was asleep on a cot. The assault continued until she collapsed to the ground. Mata Basaiya police station in-charge SI Vivek Tomar said, “When we reached the spot, the two children were lying on the cot while Ravita’s body was found face down nearby. A blood-stained axe was recovered from the scene.” “Police teams were searching for Balram when the GRPF informed us that he had died by suicide by jumping in front of a train on the railway tracks.” The room occupied by the couple remains locked after the death of all four family members.