Muzaffarpur: A man was tied to a pole, beaten and burnt to death allegedly by his sister-in-law and her son in Bihar's Muzaffarpur district, police said on Friday.
The incident took place on Thursday in Sakra police station area of the district. Sudhir Kumar, 30, was allegedly thrashed by his sister-in-law Neetu Devi and her son (name not released by police so far), who then tied him to a pole outside their home and set him on fire.
The incident shocked the entire village with police arresting the accused woman shortly. Her son remains absconding.
"A youth was murdered in Pilkhi Gajapati village of Sakra police station area. It is alleged that the deceased's sister-in-law and nephew first tied him to a pole and beat him. Then set him on fire. In this, the deceased's sister-in-law Neetu Devi has been arrested, while the accused nephew is absconding," Vidya Sagar, Rural SP, Muzaffarpur said.
Locals said that at around 10 pm on Thursday, there was an argument between Sudhir and his sister-in-law. The village watchman tried pacifying the matter. Late at night, Sudhir and Neetu again got into a fight after which she tied him to an electric pole and beat him. The enraged sister-in-law then poured kerosene on Sudhir and set him on fire.
Pragya Kumari, head of Pilkhi Gajapati Panchayat, said the deceased Sudhir was "mentally ill" and "addicted to drugs" due to which there were repeated arguments in the house, culminating in the murder.
Last year, Sudhir had allegedly set fire to a wheat field in a drunken state due to which the family faced losses running in lakhs, the Panchayat head said. "At that time also, Sudhir Kumar fought a lot with his family members. The family members also beat him fiercely. After which the head of the Panchayat kept him with him for about 4 to 5 days," Kumari said.
After the murder, there was an atmosphere of chaos in the village. The locals informed the police who then recovered the body in a half-burnt state and sent it for post-mortem. They also began an investigation into the matter and arrested the deceased's sister-in-law while the search to nab her son was on.
Locals said Sudhir got married in 2021 but his wife died a few months after she fell ill and was diagnosed with cancer.
