A 46-year-old woman was mowed down by car occupants in broad daylight in the Sadar police station area of Bhilwara, Rajasthan, on Tuesday afternoon, in what police suspect was a deliberate attack linked to a long-running financial dispute over a rented jeep.
According to the report, Lali Devi, a resident of Priyadarshini Colony in Suwana and wife of Kailash Lohar, was grazing her cattle near the main gate of a factory on Haled Road when a car arrived at the spot. The occupants allegedly drove the vehicle straight at her with the intent to kill. Around 20-25 laborers, including her son Kishan, who worked inside the same factory, were present at the scene when the attack took place. The accused fled immediately after the incident. Lali Devi was rushed to the district hospital in a critically injured condition, where doctors declared her dead.
Kishan Lohar lodged a police complaint at the Sadar police station against Bunty Cheepa, a resident of Bhilwara, and his associates, accusing them of murder. As per his report, around one-and-a-half years ago, he had arranged a jeep on rent from Bunty Cheepa for his cousin, also named Kishan, at a daily rate of Rs 1,500. On the very first day of the rental, the jeep met with an accident in the Pur police station area, killing one person. Police seized the vehicle following the crash, and it could not be released from the police station due to incomplete documentation.
After the seizure, Bunty allegedly began pressuring the victim's family to pay Rs 5 lakh as compensation for the vehicle's value. The son has claimed that the family was continuously threatened and harassed over money for the past year. Unable to bear the intimidation, the family left their original house and plot in the Kotdi area and moved to Bhilwara. Despite the relocation, the accused reportedly continued to pursue them, culminating in Tuesday's incident.
Sadar police reached the spot upon receiving information and sent the body for postmortem after beginning an investigation. Station in-charge Rohitashva Yadav said a medical board is conducting the postmortem. The deceased's son Kishan has filed a report against Bunty and others. Investigators are examining the vehicle, the crime scene, eyewitness statements and the full financial dispute in detail. Teams have been dispatched to arrest the accused, with further legal action to follow once the postmortem report is received.