AHMEDABAD: Unable to persuade his estranged wife to reunite with him, a man from Aravalli district of Gujarat rigged himself up with an explosive device and triggered a blast while embracing her for the last time.
Thursday night’s blast sent tremors of panic through the ranks of
Aravalli Police, which initially had no idea about the target of the bomb or the scale of the casualties.
Only later did police learn that the explosion had been set off by
Lala Pagi, 45, to kill his wife,
Sharda.
Sources in police said that Sharda left Pagi’s home about 45 days ago and had been staying with her father since then in Meghraj town, about 135km from Ahmedabad.
According to Sharda’s brother, Bhavan, physical and mental harassment meted out by Pagi and his family had forced her to move. Police sources said that Pagi decided to murder her, angered by her reluctance to accept his reconciliatory gestures. C P Vaghela, the inspector of the
Isri police station where a case has been filed, said that Sharda died instantly and Pagi perished shortly afterwards. They are survived by their 21-year-old son.
Vaghela said that Pagi came to visit Sharda at about 9pm on Thursday. According to Sharda’s family, soon after Pagi reached her residence near BT Chapra area in Meghraj, he gave her a hug and the blast occurred. Vaghela said that preliminary investigations have revealed that Pagi had tied two gelatin sticks to his stomach and had worn a shirt over them.
A case was registered against Pagi late on Thursday night under the Indian Penal Code's sections 302 (murder) and 286 (negligent conduct with respect to an explosive substance).
Provisions of the Explosives Act and the Explosive Substances Act have been invoked as well.
Abhay Chudasama, the inspector general of police of the Gandhinagar range, said that he will personally visit Meghraj to oversee the investigations.
Chudasam said it is critical to determine why Pagi chose the explosives to carry out the murder. He said that such explosives are commonly used in the tribal areas to catch fish.
Vaghela said that soon after the news of the explosion broke, superintendent of police Sanjay Kharat and deputy superintendent of police Bharat Basiya had reached the crime scene and started investigations.