Kerala man sets son, daughter-in-law, granddaughters on fire while they were sleeping (Representational)
An elderly man killed his son and three other members of the family by setting their house in Kerala's Idduki on fire allegedly over a property dispute. The incident happened in the early hours of the morning today, police said.
The accused's son, daughter-in-law and two school-going granddaughters, who were sleeping inside the house, were charred to death, the police told news agency Press Trust of India.
Hamid, 79, hurled tiny bottles filled with petrol inside the house through the window after locking the house from then outside. He then set the house on fire. He was arrested later, the police said.
Though one of the family members woke up noticing the fire and called for help, the neighbours could not rescue them due to the massive blaze which quickly engulfed the house and its occupants.
One of the neighbours said Hamid was seen throwing a bottle filled with petrol into the house, the police said.
"It was a well-planned murder as Hamid stocked petrol in at least five bottles to commit the crime and even emptied the water tank in the house to check any possible efforts to douse the flames. He even removed the bucket and rope to prevent neighbours from fetching water from the well for the rescue efforts," a senior police officer told Press Trust of India.
The scene inside the house was heart-breaking as the charred bodies of the father and the youngest daughter were found hugging each other tightly, the police said.
"It was very difficult for us to separate the bodies for further investigation procedures," the police said.
During the interrogation, Hamid admitted that he committed the gruesome crime over a family property with his son.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)