10-year-old girl, her younger brother found murdered, eyes gouged out in Jharkhand

Prime suspect, a distant relative, flees; Pakur police detain his parents, point to personal feud as a possible motive.

Pakur(Jharkhand): A 10-year-old girl and her 8-year-old brother were found dead on Friday morning with one eye of each gouged out, the heinous crime sending shockwaves across Jharkhand after word spread that Pakur district police were questioning the parents of the prime suspect to confirm suspicions that an old feud may have led to the gruesome killings.

“We sent the dead bodies for post-mortem and apprehended three persons for questioning after talking to the victims' family," said Amrapara police station officer in charge Manoj Kumar Kumar expressing confidence that those behind the crime would be arrested soon. Among the three being questioned were the parents of Nehru Marandi, the prime suspect, who was the last person to be seen with the kids on Thursday.

The bodies of the siblings, Marshila and Babulal, were found on a field at Ambadih village, 15km from the Pakur district headquarters and over 350km from the state capital of Ranchi. Their father, Prem Marandi, said Nehru, a distant relative, had accompanied the two children to a nearby ground to play at 6 pm on Thursday. But the children did not return home at night.

Then, Prem went over to Nehru Marandi's house to ask about the whereabouts of his children. But Nehru told them that the kids had returned home. The family and neighbors then mounted a search that went on till late in the night. This morning (Friday), villagers informed the family members of Prem that they had spotted the bodies of two children at the village ground after which the police were summoned.

Amrapara police, led by OC Kumar, then took possession of the bodies and sent them for post-mortem. They also questioned Prem and other members of the family of the deceased. Based on what they had heard, the police then searched Nehru's house. But by then, he had fled.

Police then detained Nehru's parents and another youth of the village for questioning. “The murders seem to have been carried out as a result of personal animosity,” Kumar told the media.