11 of migrant family from Pakistan found dead in Jodhpur village

JODHPUR: Eleven refugees of a family from Pakistan were found dead at an agriculture farm under suspicious circumstances in Lodta village of Dechu tehsil in Jodhpur district on Sunday morning. The deceased included five children and four women.
Following a spot inspection, police said they suspected all the deceased to have consumed pesticide or some chemical.But they are awaiting FSL and post-mortem reports.
“We are not yet in a position to ascertain if it was suicide, accidental casualty or something else. We have sent the bodies to conduct post-mortem by a medical board and will wait for the result,” said SP (Jodhpur rural) Rahul Barhat, adding that a can of pesticide and some injectable vials were found from the shack where the bodies were found.
One person of the family, identified as Kewal Ram (35) and son of the head of the family Budharam Bheel, survived as he was out in the farm allegedly keeping watch on animals trespassing the field at night. He, however, claimed that it was not suicide but murders and accused his in-laws. He has lodged an FIR against them.
Confirming the FIR, Barhat said that Kewal Ram's wife has not been living with him due to some dispute, and she had been pressurising the family for custody of her children.
Police have also found a written note from the shack, which mentions the dispute, and are verifying if it's authentic.
Meanwhile, Kewal Ram is also a suspect in the case as he had "escaped" from the incident and has been changing his statements.
He had claimed that he was not in the shack, where his family members slept at night, and learnt about the incident only after he came back in the morning. He then called up his relatives living nearby, who informed the police.
“We all had dinner between 9 and 10pm. After some chit-chat, all went to sleep. But I went up to the fencing of the farm to guard the crop from animals and drifted into sleep there itself," Kewal Ram claimed, adding that he learnt about the incident only when he reached home in the morning.
Those who died included Budharam and his wife Antara Devi; their son Ravi (31); daughters Jiya (25) and Suman (22); three sons of Kewal Ram; two grandsons Mukdash (17) and Nain (12); and another family member Laxmi (40).
The family had been working on another farm in the area and had shifted to the current farm, belonging to one Bhiyaram, about 5-6 months back for work.
Hindu Singh Sodha, president of Seemant Lok Sangathan, also rushed to the spot and demanded a fair investigation into the matter. He also spoke to the survivor and police officers.
Sodha said the family had immigrated to India from Sanghar district of Sindh province of Pakistan in July 2015. They had been staying in Jodhpur on long-term visa and working as farm labourers in Dechu area.
Jodhpur MP and Union Jal Shakti minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat lashed out at the state government, saying that the incident raises a question mark over the “working style” of chief minister Ashok Gehlot. “The deceased include two men, four women and five children. One after other, very frightening incidents reflecting the deteriorating situation of the state, are coming to the fore. The government should swing into action and clear the picture," Shekhawat tweeted.
“The death of 11 migrants from Pakistan in Dechu village in Jodhpur is a heart-wrenching incident. A high-level investigation should be carried out. This is the result of the absence of the government,” former chief minister Vasundhara Raje tweeted.
State BJP president Satish Poonia alleged that the deaths occured due to "spurious liquor" and demanded that the police "investigate the matter without delay at the earliest".