Younger brother, cousin arrested for man's murder in Jharkhand

Chaibasa, Jul 18 (PTI) A man was allegedly killed by his younger brother and cousin over a family dispute in Jharkhand's West Singhbhum district, police said on Saturday. Shankar Laguri was shot at in Jaypur village in the Hatgamharia police station area on July 13, they said. On receiving information about the incident, police said they reached the spot and found Shankar lying in a pool of blood with bullet wounds. He was first taken to Kumardungi Hospital and later referred to Sadar Hospital in Chaibasa. As his condition deteriorated, doctors sent him to Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) in Ranchi, but he died on the way, they said. Based on a complaint lodged by the victim's widow, a case was registered, following which a special investigation team was set up to probe the case. During the investigation, police arrested his cousin Vijay (30) on Friday. A country-made pistol, two live cartridges and a spent cartridge were recovered following his interrogation, SDPO (Sadar) Bahman Tuti said. His questioning led to the arrest of the victim's younger brother Mahendra (20) on Saturday, the officer said. During interrogation, Mahendra allegedly confessed that he and his cousin killed Shankar over frequent family disputes. According to police, the accused claimed the victim's inter-caste marriage had led to recurring discord within the family. They also claimed that Shankar had not shared fairly the proceeds from the sale of a family-owned piece of land, which triggered the murder. PTI BS SOM