Naming of square after PM not the cause of killing: police, Sushil Modi

Three persons have been arrested in connection with beheading of the father of a BJP worker in Darbhanga, even as police asserted that the killing was the fall-out of a land dispute and "not in any way related to naming of a square after Prime Minister Narendra Modi".

Ramchandra Yadav (65), was hacked to death inside his residence at Bhadava village in Sadar police station area of the north Bihar district late Thursday night by unidentified persons, said to be over 20 in number, who also attacked and wounded his son Kamlesh - a BJP worker.

Kamlesh had yesterday alleged before reporters at a hospital in Darbhanga that the attack took place a couple of hours after he had a tiff with local RJD activists who tried to remove a plaque from a square carrying PM Modi's name and replace it with another one carrying the name of Lalu Prasad.

"We have arrested three persons in connection with Ramchandra Yadav's murder. All of them are relatives of the deceased and the two have been involved in a land dispute for long. The arrested persons are suspected of having hired criminals to get Yadav eliminated", Darbhanga Superintendent of Police Satyaveer Singh told PTI over phone.

He, however, added "there appears to be not an iota of truth in the claim made by the son of the deceased. The plaque has been erected on his private property and not on a public square. Moreover, it is also intact. Claims of a dispute over naming a square after the Prime Minister appear to be a publicity stunt".

"We are interrogating the arrested persons and the attackers would soon be identified and caught. Investigations, so far, have however given no hint of any political angle behind the ghastly killing", the SP said.

Meanwhile, in a tweet, senior BJP leader and Bihar Deputy CM Sushil Kumar Modi also said "totally false that murder in Darbhanga because of naming Modi Chowk....case of land dispute, board was put long back. Murder has nothing to do with board".