Son-in-law beats mother-in-law to death with bat:Demanded bike, smartphone; pushed pregnant wife who tried to intervene

In the Udki village of Ahirgawan Gram Panchayat in the Brijpur police station area of Panna district, a young man murdered his mother-in-law. The accused beat his mother-in-law to death with a wooden bat. The incident occurred late Friday night between 9:30 to 10 PM. The deceased was identified as Rita Rai (50). The deceased’s youngest daughter Khushi Rai was married on May 23 last year to Sandeep Vishwas (28), a resident of village Gauda (Panchayat Usrar) in Satna district. Family members alleged that since the marriage, Sandeep and his family had been mentally and physically torturing Khushi over demands for a bike and smartphone. Dispute with family over dowry demand On Thursday, the accused Sandeep had left his pregnant wife Khushi at her maternal home. On Friday (May 1) morning, he reached his in-laws’ house again with his brother-in-law. Here, a dispute occurred over the dowry demand. As the dispute escalated, he had threatened to kill his mother-in-law. Three consecutive blows on mother-in-law’s head The deceased’s brother-in-law Sanjay Rai said that on Friday night around 9:00 PM, Rita Rai was cooking food at home. Just then, the accused Sandeep arrived there. He had a wooden bat in his hand. He attacked his mother-in-law on the head with the bat. When his pregnant wife Khushi came to intervene, the accused pushed her and made her fall. The accused struck three consecutive blows on his mother-in-law’s head. The attack was fatal and Rita Rai died on the spot. After the incident, the accused took advantage of the darkness and fled. Separate teams formed for arrest of accused Station in-charge Shakti Prakash Pandey said that the police had registered an FIR considering the seriousness of the case. Separate teams were formed for the arrest of the accused. The search for him was ongoing. The accused will be in police custody soon.