Ranchi, May 15 (IANS): A 50-year-old man identified as Gajendra Singh, a resident of Runia village in Khunti district, was allegedly murdered by his brother-in-law Bhupesh Khandit using a sharp-edged weapon and a large stone following a domestic dispute in Nichetoli village under the Tamar police station limits in Jharkhand’s Ranchi district, police said on Friday. Gajendra had arrived at his in-laws’ house on Thursday along with his wife, but trouble began when Bhupesh allegedly took control of all household utensils and refused to allow cooking, insisting the guests return to their village. The dispute escalated on Friday morning when Bhupesh’s younger sister asked him for utensils to prepare food and fetch water, during which he allegedly attacked Gajendra repeatedly with a locally used sharp-edged weapon called a ‘Dauli’ before smashing his head with a large stone from the courtyard, killing him on the spot. Bhupesh’s younger sister also suffered minor injuries while trying to intervene and save her husband.
After committing the murder, the accused allegedly locked himself inside a room in the house, but was arrested after Tamar police station incharge Praveen Kumar Modi arrived at the spot with a police team and had the room opened. Investigators revealed that Bhupesh had previously served jail time in connection with an attempt-to-murder case, pointing to a history of violent behaviour. A Forensic Science Laboratory team from Ranchi was called to the spot to collect scientific evidence given the gravity of the crime, while the body of Gajendra has been sent for post-mortem examination. Police have launched a detailed investigation into the incident and are probing the underlying causes of the bitterness within the family that led to the fatal confrontation.