Newly-wed couple found hanging in Vaishali, kin allege murder

Patna: The bodies of a newly married couple were found hanging inside their house in Vaishali district on Tuesday morning, police said.

The family alleged that the couple — Ravi Kumar (26) and his wife Urmila Kumari (21), residents of Pakri village under Bidupur police station area— were murdered and then hanged by Ravi’s younger brother, Suman Kumar, over a property dispute.

Police said both murder and suicide angles are being investigated. Suman and his wife are absconding, and raids are being conducted to trace them. The couple had married on Feb 27 this year.

Police said they received information from Pakri village that a couple had died by suicide. A team rushed to the spot and sent the bodies to Sadar Hospital, Hajipur, for the postmortem.

According to Urmila’s elder brother, Sonu Kumar, Suman had entered into an inter-caste marriage before Ravi’s wedding and had been living separately. “He brought his wife home for the first time about two months after my sister’s marriage,” Sonu said.

He alleged that Ravi and Urmila opposed Suman’s marriage and did not want the couple to stay in the house. Ravi, a truck driver, had built the house with his earnings before his marriage. However, Ravi’s father wanted Suman to stay there, leading to a family dispute over the property.

Sonu claimed that Urmila had complained of harassment at her matrimonial home and was not allowed to visit her parents even during her first Holi after marriage.

“Last night around 11pm, my brother-in-law returned from work. My sister called and said she no longer wanted to live there. She said Ravi planned to send her to our parental home until they could buy land and build a separate house. I told her I would come to take her,” Sonu said.

Bidupur additional SHO Aditya Kumar said police initially received information suggesting the couple had died by suicide. Evidence from the scene and statements of family members are being examined.

“An FIR has been registered on the complaint of the deceased woman’s brother, Sonu Kumar. Further action will depend on the postmortem report and findings of the investigation,” the police officer said.