Kanpur: A two-hour-old boy died and his parents were critically injured after the father’s elder brother and his family beat them with sticks over a six-year-old dispute involving just one square metre of land in a Kanpur village.Mahendra (38), a farmer, lived with his wife, Jyoti (32), and their four-year-old son in Kandhaikheda village in Maharajpur area. On Friday morning, Jyoti delivered a second son at home.When Mahendra was away from home for work, his elder brother, Surendra, who lived nearby, barged into Mahendra’s house along with his son Shiva, daughter Sonam and others. They allegedly assaulted Jyoti. When women from the neighbourhood tried to intervene, they too were allegedly beaten with sticks, as per a police complaint.During the assault, a stick allegedly struck the newborn, killing him on the spot. When Mahendra returned home, the accused assaulted him, fracturing his arms and legs. Mahendra and Jyoti were admitted to Govt Ursala Hospital.On the victims’ complaint, police registered an FIR late Saturday and sent the newborn’s body for a postmortem.Maharajpur Inspector Janardan Singh said, “We are awaiting the postmortem report. If the report corroborates the charges, relevant (murder) sections will be added.”
