Three persons, including a 60-year-old former janpad panchayat vice president, were charred to death while two others were injured after they were attacked by a large group of persons over a purported dispute linked to sand mining in Chhattisgarh’s Korea district on Tuesday (June 16, 2026) night, the police said. 

So far, four persons have been arrested in connection with the murders, while the injured remained in a critical condition, the police said.

The deceased former janpad panchayat vice president Bharat Singh and his long-standing business rivals, the Tripathi family, whose members are among the accused, were both associated with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), a senior police officer said.

Following the incident, the Opposition Congress accused the BJP government in the State of providing patronage to illegal sand mining.

The victims were travelling in two vehicles, according to the police, including a sport utility vehicle (SUV) and a sedan, when they were allegedly attacked by members of a rival group near the Tripathi family’s residence. Rajendra Singh, a cousin of Bharat Singh, claimed that a fight had broken out between members of the two families earlier in the day, and Bharat Singh and others were called by the Tripathis on the pretext of reaching a compromise. “It was a pre-planned murder,” Mr. Rajendra Singh told The Hindu.

Preliminary investigations revealed the attackers repeatedly rammed the SUV with a light tipper truck, damaging the vehicle and jamming its doors, preventing the occupants from escaping. The SUV subsequently caught fire, a police officer said.  Eyewitnesses claimed that some occupants of the SUV, who attempted to break the vehicle’s windows and flee, were assaulted by the attackers.

While Bharat Singh was charred to death at the spot, two others travelling in the SUV — Nagendra Singh and Virendra Singh — suffered severe burns and later succumbed to their injuries during treatment, Additional Superintendent of Police (Korea) Suresha Chaubey said. Two others, Mayank Singh Thakur and Gyanendra Thakur, were being taken to Raipur for better treatment, Ms. Chaubey added.

Mr. Rajendra Singh further claimed that the attackers had poured petrol on the SUV and set it ablaze. Ms. Chaubey, however, said that a forensic report would establish if that was the case, or whether the fire had been caused by a short circuit.

“So far, four accused belonging to the Tripathi family have been arrested. A case has been registered. Efforts are on to apprehend the remaining accused,” another police officer said. The two families had been locked in a dispute for a long time, and a sand mining license had recently also become a reason for rivalry.

Chhattisgarh Congress president Deepak Baij claimed that rivalries among BJP leaders over illegal mining had led to the incident. 

“Sand mafias have been operating under government patronage in Chhattisgarh. Illegal sand mining is being carried out under the protection of BJP leaders. The deceased (Bharat Singh) was a BJP leader, and those accused of the attack are also linked to the BJP,” Mr. Baij said. A gang war was underway over illegal sand mining operations in the State, he said.

Mr. Rajendra Singh said Bharat Singh was a janpad vice president in the late 2000s but later, due to reservation, he could not contest the polls but remained an influential figure in the area. 

Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai said that a probe was on, and those responsible would not be spared.