Man kills mother over farmland row, Dies by suicide

 

By Sumesh Rajan | August 10, 2025

Latur, Maharashtra, INDIA: A land dispute between a mother and son ended in tragedy in Latur district’s Sangvi village, Renapur taluka, where a 45-year-old man allegedly killed his 70-year-old mother and later took his own life, police said on Saturday August 9.

The deceased have been identified as Laxmibai Ghuge (70) and her son Baban Ghuge (45). According to police, tensions had been brewing over the sale of the family’s agricultural land. Baban had reportedly been pressuring his mother to sell the property to raise funds, but Laxmibai refused, leading to frequent quarrels.

Investigators believe that a few days ago, in a fit of rage, Baban strangled his mother and buried her body in a nearby sugarcane field. The crime came to light after villagers, alarmed by Laxmibai’s sudden disappearance, launched a search. They discovered freshly dug soil in the field and, upon digging, found her body, triggering shock and anger in the community.

Within hours of the killing, Baban is said to have died by suicide, hanging himself from a tree near his home — an act police suspect was driven by guilt, fear of arrest, or emotional breakdown.

Renapur police recovered both bodies and sent them for post-mortem. In a poignant scene, the mother and son were later cremated together on the same funeral pyre, surrounded by grieving relatives and stunned villagers.

A case has been registered, and further investigation is underway. Locals described the day as one of the darkest in the village’s history, expressing disbelief that a dispute over land could shatter the sacred bond between a mother and her child.