Ramanand Yadav, Mahipal's uncle (chacha) who runs a grocery store in Bhungarka, told Swarajya that Mahipal was a quiet and nice man and it is unbelievable what he had done.

Referring to the reports about Mahipal killing his employers over religious conversion, Ramanand simply blamed it all on "Ishu mashi ka chakkar". He told Swarajya, "reports say he changed his religion eight months ago but the truth is that even when he was here, he had stopped doing dhoop-batti (Hindu rituals). He would get annoyed whenever I questioned him why he stopped it and told me to mind my own business. But no villager likes these sort of things."

However, Ramanand said he was not in touch with his nephew for about three years since he left the village for Gurugram and cannot comment on his recent state of mind. Other villagers don’t remember Mahipal as a religious fanatic. Dharampal Singh, his neighbour, told Swarajya that Mahipal visited the village a few months ago for a brief period and greeted him with the customary ‘Ram Ram’.

It was during his brief stay in Bhungarka that Mahipal is believed to have met his 'guru' Indraraj and was drawn towards Christianity. It was in this village that Indraraj was also arrested for illegal conversion in 2015.

Former sarpanch Rajendra Prasad told Swarajya that though Mahipal had nothing to do with the conversion event at that time, it had later emerged that he had come in close contact with Indraraj, converted and got himself involved in similar activities. Narrating the 2015 case, Prasad, who acted as one of the complainants, said, "for days, there were announcements in the village that a team of doctors will come and cure villagers of all diseases so everyone should visit the camp in Sewaram Dharamshala. But on the day of the camp, villagers learnt that the team had actually come to promote Christianity. They were telling the villagers that their religion is wrong and that if they convert, they would be healed."

Narendra Singh, another complainant, said, "they said a lot of bad things against Hindu dharma. We submitted the recording of the event and the objectionable pamphlets to the police who registered a case against several people including the key accused Indraraj. But he never appeared for court hearings. His lawyer said he had died."

As the police are probing this angle, Mahipal himself has been confusing the investigating team. While he initially is learnt to have said that it is every Christian’s duty to eliminate demons, he is now reportedly saying that "shaitan" just means "a bad and dirty person".

In his latest statement, Mahipal has reportedly said that he was neither mentally disturbed, nor influenced by any religion or religious scripture and that the killing was in a fit or rage. "I got stuck at a parking lot as another vehicle was blocking the way. They (judge’s wife and son) started making frantic calls. I knew I would be rebuked and decided not to respond. When I returned, they were furious. The boy snatched the car keys from me, telling me to ‘get lost’. I just couldn’t take it from a mere 18-year-old," investigating official have quoted him as saying.

Mahipal’s wife Meenu, with whom he reportedly had strained relations ever since they married eight years ago, could provide important inputs in the case. She too has been taken for questioning. Swarajya approached her family in Rewari’s Rojka village but the family refused to talk. Meenu has not spoken to the media since the incident. Some reports say that Meenu has told the investigators that whenever Mahipal was rebuked by Ritu and Dhruv for constantly talking about Christianity, he would abuse them later and refer to them as ‘shaitan’. Meenu reportedly left Mahipal sometime ago and went to her house in Rojka as she was fed up with her husband’s attempt to convert Ritu and Dhruv. Reports say the couple constantly fought among themselves and did so loudly. Meenu reportedly was also upset as many of Mahipal’s relatives had distanced themselves from the couple after his conversion to another religion.

Amid all this, his employer Sharma has not spoken to the media. The police are reportedly considering a lie-detector test for the accused.