Coaching centre owner, wife and son murdered in Begusarai

Police said Amit Kumar Poddar, 35, his wife Priyanka Kumari, 30, and son Aryan Kumar, 4, had apparently been strangled to death in their ancestral house at Mohammadpur in Town police station area of Begusarai.

A coaching institute owner, his wife and son were found dead under mysterious circumstances in their house in Begusarai town of Bihar, about 124km from here, on Tuesday.

A coaching institute owner, his wife and son were found dead under mysterious circumstances in their house in  Begusarai town of Bihar, about 124km from here, on Tuesday. (Shutterstock image)

Police said Amit Kumar Poddar, 35, his wife Priyanka Kumari, 30, and son Aryan Kumar, 4, had apparently been strangled to death in their ancestral house at Mohammadpur in Town police station area of Begusarai.

“We are trying to ascertain the motive behind the murders,” a police officer said, adding that the possibility of a property dispute could not be ruled out. Preliminary investigations suggested that someone known to the family could be behind the murders, he said.

A case of murder has been registered and bodies sent for post-mortem examination, he added.

Police said the murders came to light at around 6am when Amit’s younger brother Sumit Kumar found the three bodies lying in a room of their ancestral house.

Poddar was the owner of Saraswati Coaching Institute in the town and also dealt in real estate. Police suspect he could have been involved in a long-standing property dispute with someone known to the family. However, these details are yet to be verified, police said.

Begusarai superintendent of police Ranjit Kumar Mishra said investigation was underway and people close to the family were being questioned.

He said names of Pappu Singh and Gopal Mandal, with whom Poddar had some disputes, had figured as suspects during the investigation. Pappu Singh has been detained for interrogation and search was on for Mandal, Mishra added.