Rajkot: What were presumed to be deaths caused by a house fire have unravelled into a sinister story of a son’s betrayal and a grim reminder of how mounting a debt pile and greed can drive a family to self-destruction.In Talaja town of Bhavnagar district, an elderly couple’s charred bodies were found in their on April 19. A fortnight on, the police have confirmed that they were murders conspired by their own son Vimal and his wife Hetal to usurp their property. Hetal also roped in two contract killers but she herself strangled her in-laws – Kishore Vaitha (64) and his wife Rekha (60) and set their bodies on fire.Bhavnagar police got a forensic postmortem done after Rekha’s brother, who rushed from Surat on Vimal’s call that her health had suddenly deteriorated, mentioned to investigators about the nephew’s debt pile and resultant quarrels with the parents. The families are engaged in jewellery making.Rajesh filed a complaint at the Talaja police station. On Saturday, police arrested Vimal, Hetal, and two men- Munir Bloch (31) and Amir Pathan (33) who allegedly assisted the woman in the crime.Medical findings revealed that Kishore had been strangled, while the absence of soot in Rekha’s respiratory tract indicated she was already dead before the fire, suggesting a deliberate attempt to destroy evidence.Investigations revealed that Hetal had met Munir and Amir at a beauty parlour in Rajkot around six months ago, where the conspiracy began to take shape. The final plan was executed on the night of April 18.Vimal, who lived in Rajkot with Hetal and their 15-year-old daughter, has four sisters.Hetal strangled both in-lawsOn April 18 night, Hetal let Munir and Pathan into Vaitha’s house late. As Rekha went to the washroom, the assailants locked the door from outside. Bloch then threw chilli paste into Vaitha’s eyes, after which he and Amir restrained him while Hetal strangled him with a rope. When Rekha knocked on the door, she was let out and Hetal allegedly smothered her, pushed her to the ground, sat on her chest and strangled her. She then poured petrol on both bodies and set them on fire to make the deaths appear accidental. Refusal to sell house led to murder plotPolice investigations revealed that Vimal was heavily in debt and frequently harassed his parents for money. He had been pressuring his father to sell the family house and shop to clear his dues, and also demanded his mother’s gold jewellery. When the couple refused, the accused allegedly plotted their murder. It is learnt that Vaitha had earlier also cleared some dues of Vimal. “Couldn’t Watch his parents murder”Police the prime accused, Vimal, stayed away from the house during the murders, claiming he could not bear to witness his parents being killed. According to Bhavnagar DSP Nitish Pandey, “Vimal deliberately left the house with a friend, saying he would not be able to see the murder of his parents.”
