Brick kiln contractor accused of killing labourer over Rs 1,000 debt in Bihar’s Nalanda

Nalanda: A brick kiln contractor allegedly abducted and brutally assaulted a labourer and his wife over a disputed debt of Rs 1,000, killing the labourer, Surendra Manjhi, and burying his body in a pit, police said. The body was later recovered, and raids were launched to arrest the accused on Monday.

The deceased man’s wife, Nauleja Devi, alleged that she and her husband were forcibly taken from their house and assaulted. She also claimed that the accused subjected them to electric shocks inside a house.

Speaking to IANS, Nauleja said, “We had taken the money and had almost paid all of it, but only Rs 1,000 was left.”

“They came and kidnapped us and beat me and my husband after tying us to a tree. They beat us four times. They almost broke my legs, but somehow I managed to save myself,” she alleged.

“They killed my husband around 4 a.m. Only Rs 1,000 was left to pay. We had already paid the entire Rs 60,000 we had taken from them,” she said.

“Despite us having paid the money, they abducted me and my husband,” she alleged.

Nauleja further alleged that the accused were demanding Rs 7 lakh over the remaining Rs 1,000.

“They were demanding Rs 7 lakh for Rs 1,000. How could we have paid such a huge amount? We had taken this money around four years ago. That is why they were demanding it and killed my husband,” she alleged.

Nauleja claimed that the accused took them to Paparnousa village, where her husband was allegedly killed.

“They took us to Paparnousa village, where they killed my husband. They murdered him in that village itself. Those who killed him were from the Yadav community,” she alleged.

The woman is a resident of Nilkanth Bigha village and said she and her husband had been working at a brick kiln for around a year.

“We were working there at the brick kiln for one year,” she said.

The incident reportedly took place around a week ago.

She further alleged that she and her husband had been working at the brick kiln and named Mukesh Yadav, Manish, Dilkhush and Mauli Devi as those allegedly responsible for the incident.

Police have recovered Surendra’s body and launched raids to trace and arrest the accused. Further investigation into the allegations and circumstances surrounding the death is underway.

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