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Jharkhand: Man held for killing elderly couple with axe over torn slipper strip dispute
An elderly couple was brutally murdered over a trivial issue — a broken slipper strap — in West Singhbhum district, police said on Friday
An elderly couple was brutally murdered over a trivial issue — a broken slipper strap — in West Singhbhum district, police said on Friday.
Police further said that the incident occurred at Lipunga village, which falls under the jurisdiction of Gua police station.
The shocking details emerged after a special investigation team (SIT) headed by Kiriburu sub-divisional police officer (SDPO) Ajay Kerketta arrested Jangam Balmuchu for the murder of 72-year-old Sargia Balmuchu and his 65-year-old wife Mukta Balmuchu at their house on the night of November 24–25.
“Jangam Balmuchu has been arrested for the murder of Sargia Balmuchu and his wife Mukta Balmuchu. During interrogation, he confessed to his crime and said he had a dispute with the couple over his torn slipper strap, following which a village panchayat was held on Sunday. He said he killed the couple in a fit of rage after they refused to meet his demands during the panchayat. In remote forest areas of the district, such tragic incidents occur over trivial issues,” SDPO Ajay Kerketta told HT on Friday.
According to police, Jangam had demanded a goat and a bottle of hadiya (a rice-based home-brewed liquor) from the couple as compensation for his torn slipper, which they refused due to their abject poverty. “This infuriated Jangam, who killed both Sargia and Mukta by slitting their throats with an axe,” a police officer said.
Local villagers spotted the bodies lying in a pool of blood on Tuesday morning and informed the police. A broken axe was recovered from the crime scene.
