Indian kills father in Nepal after Mumbai dreams turn sour

KATHMANDU - A young man from Uttar Pradesh pursued his father to Nepal and killed him in broad daylight after his Mumbai dreams turned sour.

Babloo Ansari, the son of a tailor in India’s Maharajgunj district close to the Nepal border, was arrested by Nepal police in Nawalparasi district across the border Tuesday when he tried to flee the country after gunning down his father, 45-year-old Israin Ansari, in cold blood.

The murder, which shocked Nepal, occurred after growing dispute and animosity between father and son, police said.

“Israin Ansari was a tailor in Maharajgunj who also owned some land,” said Nawalparasi police superintendent Bhog Bahadur Thapa. “He had two marriages and Babloo was his son by his first wife.”

Ansari is said to have abandoned his first wife and son in favour of his second wife, by whom he had five children.

Sibling rivalry and anger at his father selling his land - which Babloo regarded as his legacy - led to the murder, Thapa said.

Ansari had come to Nepal to attend the wedding of his niece. He was staying at a guest house in Suryapura village.

His son, who was following him, arrived there around 8.30 a.m. Tuesday on a cycle, shot Ansari in the temple and fled.

“He tried to escape to India across the border,” Thapa said. “However, we set up cordons and began a door-to-door search, leading to Babloo’s arrest.”

The fugitive was found hiding in a forested area in the neighbourhood after he was prevented from escaping. Police also found a pistol and a local firearm with him as well as bullets.

“Though Babloo says he acted alone, we think he had an accomplice who was the cyclist,” Thapa said. “It is impossible for a man to carry two weapons, ride a cycle and shoot simultaneously. The involvement of the first wife too can’t be ruled out.”

Though Babloo told police he was 18, Thapa said they suspect him to be in his mid-20s.

“Since he was working as a labourer in Mumbai, it is likely that he was influenced by the criminal activities there and could have been part of a gang,” Thapa said.

After Babloo failed to do well in Mumbai, he returned to Maharajgunj, where he eked out a living running a small tailoring shop and buying goods in India and selling them across the border.

Currently in custody, Babloo will be produced in the local court of the western district in about three weeks’ time.

Thapa said police would be pressing for the maximum punishment - life imprisonment, which amounts to nearly 20 years in prison.