Man killed over land sale dispute in Samastipur

Patna: The body of a 38-year-old man was recovered from Shanti river in Baghmara village under Kalyanpur police station area in Samastipur district on Tuesday morning. The deceased identified as Ranjit Kumar, a resident of Kusiyari Harpurva in Chakmahesi, was allegedly killed over land sale dispute, police said.According to police, Ranjit was stabbed in the neck with a sharp-edged weapon and his body was dumped into the river. The victim worked in Delhi but after his father’s death, he left his job and returned to his village about a year ago, where he was engaged in farming.Police said Ranjit paid an advance of Rs10.50 lakh to his neighbour Atish Mahato for purchase of five katthas of land at the rate of Rs2.25 lakh per kattha. Despite receiving the full amount, Atish allegedly refused to register the land in Ranjit’s name.On Monday evening, Atish called Ranjit from his house, asking him to come along to see the land documents. Later, around 10pm, Ranjit made a frantic call to his wife, asking for help, said Ranjit’s uncle, Rajendra Kumar Mahato.Rajendra said the family immediately began searching for him after the call ended. They later learnt that Atish had taken Ranjit to his hotel and offered him food. During the search, two of Atish’s associates, Nitish and Rahul, were detained by the police.

They reportedly revealed that Ranjit was hacked to death with a sharp weapon and his body was dumped into the river.Sadar DSP-II Sanjay Kumar confirmed that the murder was the result of a dispute related to money transactions involving the purchase and sale of land. Two people have been detained and are being interrogated, while the main accused, Atish, is still absconding.“Police have launched raids to arrest the accused,” he said.