Six of family shot dead in India

Six members of a family, including three women, were shot dead in India’s Madhya Pradesh after a land dispute turned violent. Two other men have been hospitalised with severe injuries.

Shocking video footage of the incident showed several men carrying rifles shooting at an unarmed group of people after the latter were thrashed with wooden sticks, reports NDTV.

The incident happened around 10am on Friday at Lepa village, 50-60km from the Morena district headquarters, between the families of Dheer Singh Tomar and Gajendra Singh Tomar.

The two families had clashed over dumping waste in 2013. Two people from Dheer Singh’s family were killed then, and Gajendra Singh’s family fled the village.

The two families had reconciled outside a court, and the latter's family had returned to the village on Friday. Dheer Singh’s family allegedly launched a pre-meditated attack on them with sticks and opened fire.

Gajendra Singh and his two sons were among the six who were murdered.

Asked about the motive behind the killings, police said the two groups had an old enmity.

"The victims' relatives have been accused of murdering the family members of today's alleged killers," an official said.

The police have identified eight people who were allegedly involved in the murders and a case is being registered against them, they said.