Vaishali couple brutally killed over land row

PATNA: A man and his pregnant wife were brutally killed by their relatives over a land dispute at

Jarang Rampur village

under

Belsar

police outpost in Vaishali district early on Saturday. The two were dragged out of their house and stabbed multiple times. Their throats were also slashed.

The victims were identified as Shashi Thakur (35), a wholesale fruit trader, and his wife Sangeeta Devi (29). Sangeeta was in the fifth month of her pregnancy. The couple had two little sons who were inside the house when the incident occurred around 6am.

Police said a dispute over 22-kattha ancestral land at Jarang Rampur village led to the twin murder. Shashi had filed a title suit in the court to claim his portion of the land. Three close relatives of Shashi, including his cousin Harinarayan Thakur (40), were injured as they were attacked with sharp-edged objects.

Quoting locals, SHO of Vaishali police station Sanjay Kumar said it was Shashi who had first attacked his relatives. “He was then attacked by his cousins and nephews who eventually killed him and his wife by stabbing them multiple times and slashing their throats,” he said, adding Sangeeta’s mother, Ahilya Devi, has lodged an

FIR

against 17 family members of Shashi.

The SHO said the bodies were dumped in a small plot near Harinarayan’s house. “Harinarayan’s son Sunny Thakur is the prime accused. He is evading arrest,” the SHO added.