Siblings attempt suicide after setting parents afire

Incest the reason behind crime, allege locals of Duliagaon village of Malow in Jorhat

A Correspondent

Jorhat, May 29: A thirty-two year old youth and his sister tried to set their parents on fire before attempting suicide in a village in Jorhat district, triggering sensation across the State.

Pullock Dutta and Sumi Dutta (26) tried to set ablaze their parents - Deben Dutta (60) and Nikumoni Dutta (55) – at Duliagaon village of Malow under Pulibor Outpost on Friday and later tried to commit suicide by cutting each other’s throat.

Police investigations later revealed that the family of Deben Dutta had remained in isolation and had no contact with neighbours.

Locals who informed the police after seeing smoke billowing out from the bedroom of the aged couple, claimed that the siblings were drug addicts.

Pullock and Sumi were admitted to the Jorhat Medical College and Hospital (JMCH) on May 27 for treatment, but the duo maged to escape from the hospital and turned up once again in their house, which led to a serious feud in the family.

In a fit of rage, Pullock and Sumi reportedly brought the LPG cylinder from the kitchen to their parents’ bedroom, opened its valve and set it alight. Later, they attempted to slit open the other’s throat with sharp kitchen knife. The police who arrived at the scene minutes after the first information, immediately shifted the four to the JMCH where the condition of the parents are said to be critical with 80 per cent burn injuries.

The siblings are out of danger despite loss of blood and injuries to their vocal cords.

Sources in the village claimed that the brother and sister were involved in an incestuous affair, because of which there were regular fights with the parents. It was alleged that the brother-sister duo tortured the parents off and on.

The girl was earlier engaged in a government job but was forced to quit by her brother. It was because of their abnormal relations, considered a taboo, that they remained isolated from other locals in the area.

Meanwhile, Sumi Dutta, in a written statement to Pulibor police after regaining consciousness, claimed that she was threatened by some unidentified boys and hence decided to end her life. But her brother Pullock Dutta, in his statement, confessed about his relationship with his sister and that she is three-months pregnt. The statement was confirmed by the Officer-in-Charge of the Pulibor Outpost Hrishikesh Hazarika.  

Jorhat SP Amanjit Kaur said the brother and sister duo had tried to kill themselves by injecting some pesticides in their bodies a few days back and were hospitalized following the incident.