Drunken man beats wife to death in Nalanda

Patna: A man allegedly under the influence of alcohol beat his wife to death on Sunday after she refused to give him money for liquor in Nalanda district, the home district of former CM Nitish Kumar.

The incident took place in Parasi village under Noorsarai police station area. The accused, identified as Manish Kumar alias Surajbhan, thrashed his wife, Rakhi Kumari (30), to death over denial of money.

Rakhi, daughter of Upendra Singh of Kariyanna village under Silao police station area, was married to Manish in 2020. The couple has two children—a four-year-old daughter and a two-and-a-half-year-old son.

Upendra alleged that his son-in-law was jobless, addicted to alcohol, and often stayed in bad company. He regularly pressured Rakhi to bring money from her parents. “We had already given him Rs 10,000 to Rs 20,000 several times, but his demands never ended,” he said. Due to poor financial condition and addiction, he often beat up Rakhi, he added.

Police said an FIR has been lodged by Upendra at Noorsarai police station in this regard.

On Sunday, neighbours called Rakhi’s parents, saying her condition was critical. When Upendra, along with other family members, rushed to Parasi village, they found the door locked from inside. After they raised an alarm and threatened to break the door, Manish opened it. He fell at his father-in-law’s feet, begged for forgiveness, and then fled.

Upendra alleged that injury marks on Rakhi’s body exposed the brutality, contradicting Manish’s claim that she had fallen from the stairs. Manish’s parents and sister, who live in the same house, were in Delhi for treatment at the time of the incident.

Police said Manish was released on bail just 15 days ago after spending seven months in jail in a case of molestation of a minor.

Noorsarai SHO Arvind Kumar said, “Prima facie, it appears to be a case of death due to thrashing. Police handed over the body to the family after the postmortem. Based on Rakhi’s father’s statement and the initial probe, raids are being conducted to arrest Manish. Strict legal action will be taken against him.”