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EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
VADODARA, Aug 10: One person was killed and two others seriously injured when armed dacoits assaulted the scions of the former royal family at their palatial house in Limdi, 10 kms from the Dahod district headquarters on Sunday night.
Lila Kunwar, Govindsinh P Rathod's 72-year-old mother, died in the incident. Rathod himself sustained serious head injuries alongwith his wife Kailash Kunwar. Both are undergoing treatment in a private hospital here, and are said to be in a serious condition. Rathod is in a semi-conscious condition, doctors attending on him said.
According to the Dahod police, three dacoits wielding sharp-edged weapons and sticks climbed on to the first floor of the house from behind and entered the Rathods' bedroom by breaking the window panes. They also disconnected the telephone lines soon after entering the house.
Rathod and his wife woke on hearing the sounds of their almirah being broken and challenged the dacoits. They were assaulted on their head, face and neck. Hearing the noise of the scuffle, Rathod's mother, who was sleeping in another room, rushed in and was also assaulted by the dacoits.
On hearing the noise of the fight, neighbours reached the house immediately, but the dacoits had already escaped. They had, by then, only been able to lay their hands on some jewellery worth about Rs 1.5 lakhs, but could not touch the money kept in the cupboard, according to a family member of the victims.
All the three were first rushed to the Dahod Civil Hospital but were referred to Vadodara on Monday evening. The old lady succumbed to her injuries on Tuesday morning.
The Rathods are quite wealthy, and own a petrol pump and a shopping complex besides landed property. According to the police, the assailants must have come from the neighbouring Jhabua district of Madhya Pradesh, which is just 10 kms from Limdi.
Copyright © 1999 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
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This story was printed from Net Express located at http://www.expressindia.com. Net Express provides a portal to India, with news from The Indian Express and The Financial Express along with sites on travel and tourism, the entertainment industry, the power sector, the environment and much more.
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