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Former village sarpanch Ram Singh Choudhary, his second wife, and two other members of his family were reportedly murdered before their bodies were set ablaze inside an SUV near Rajasthan’s Ajmer district, police said on Thursday.

Rajasthan horror: Ex-sarpanch, mother, wife among 4 found charred in car near Ajmer (Representative image/AFP)Choudhary’s first wife, son and daughter have been detained in connection with the killings, with investigators pointing to a long-running domestic dispute inside the family.

The incident came to light in Shri Rampura village, about 60 km from Ajmer city, after a Mahindra Scorpio was found engulfed in flames on a highway nearly 500 metres from where the family lived, reported news agency PTI.

Police said three charred bodies were recovered from inside the vehicle, while a fourth body was found lying in a nearby field.

The deceased were identified as former sarpanch Ram Singh Choudhary (45), his mother and former sarpanch Pusi Devi (85), his second wife Surgyan Devi (40), and niece Mahima.

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Superintendent of Police (SP) Harsh Vardhan Agarwala said the case initially appeared to be an accidental fire, but the investigation soon pointed towards murder.

HT has learnt that victim Ram Singh Choudhary allegedly subjected his first wife Sunita and children to physical and mental harassment for years. He had assaulted them again on Wednesday night, after which the accused allegedly planned the murders,” the SP said.

The police said suspicion grew after family members allegedly gave conflicting accounts of the incident and displayed unusual behaviour in the aftermath.

Investigators claimed Sunita was allegedly pretending to cry, while her son was seen calmly drinking tea. Police also noted that none of the accused initially went near the spot where the burning vehicle was found.

Police suspect the four victims were killed inside the house using a sharp-edged farming weapon, with their throats allegedly slit during the attack.

According to investigators, the accused later siphoned diesel from a tractor, loaded the bodies into the Scorpio SUV and drove the vehicle nearly 500 metres away from the house before setting it ablaze in an attempt to destroy evidence.

Investigators said Ram Singh had married Sunita in 2004 before tying the knot with Surgyan Devi in 2019, a development that allegedly deepened tensions within the household over the years.

According to police, Ram Singh lived with both his wives in the same house and tensions within the family often led to frequent quarrels. Investigators suspect the murders took place late on Wednesday night following another family dispute.

“Ram Singh had two wives, and there was a dispute in the family on this matter. Our investigation revealed that the first wife and her children had a scuffle with Ram Singh and his mother,” the SP said, PTI reported.

“When police went to Ram Singh’s house, his first wife said he had gone to a hospital with his mother, who had pain in her chest,” he added.

Investigators believe Ram Singh was first attacked with a sharp-edged weapon during the argument. When his mother and other family members tried to intervene, they too were assaulted.

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“After the bodies were recovered, locals shared various inputs about the domestic violence and frequent quarrels that used to happen between Ram Singh and Sunita,” PTI quoted another police officer as saying.

The officer added that the accused claimed during questioning that Ram Singh allegedly used to torture Sunita and frequently fought with her.

Police said Ram Singh’s first wife Sunita, daughter Sarita and his 17-year-old son have been taken into custody for questioning in connection with the murders. Further investigation is underway to establish the exact sequence of events and individual roles in the killings.