BAGALKOT: A mother-daughter duo was burnt alive while two others of a family sustained injuries after some unidentified persons set fire to a shed they were living in on a farm at Belagali village in Mudhol taluk in the wee hours on Tuesday.
The deceased were identified as Zainab Pendari (55) and Shabana (25) Pendari while the injured are Dastagirsab Pendari and son Subhan Pendari. Dastagirsab’s grandson Sadiq Pendari, who came out after getting the smell of petrol, had a lucky escape. Dastagirsab and Subhan are being treated at a hospital.
It is believed that the attackers had planned to eliminate the entire family and had filled petrol in an overhead plastic tank and sprayed the shed with it before lighting fire. Bagalkot SP Amarnath Reddy, along with the forensic and dog squads, visited the spot and a case was registered at the Mudhol police station.
“The incident occurred between 2 am and 3 am. The tank used to fill petrol can hold about 100 litres and petrol was sprayed all around the shed. When Sadiq went to wake up his grandfather, the miscreants set fire to the shed. Dastagir, Subhan and Sadiq managed to escape with injuries, but the two women could not be saved as there had been and explosion”, the SP said. The police have detained four persons on suspicion and are questioning them.