Patna, Aug 30 (IANS) A long-standing land dispute in Araria district turned violent in the early hours of Saturday, claiming two lives and a house was set ablaze.

The incident took place around 3 am in Dhaneshwari Panchayat Ward-13 under the jurisdiction of Bhargama police station.

According to police, the violence broke out near the depot and house of Panchayat Samiti member Guddu Yadav.

Unknown assailants allegedly shot dead 40-year-old Jaikumar Yadav, son of Vishnudev Yadav, while he was asleep inside the depot.

When people heard the gunshots and reached the spot, they became angry and, in retaliation, allegedly set a house on fire, causing severe injuries to Nayan Yadav, who was inside the house at the time.

Yadav later succumbed due to burn injuries.

Local villagers said the dispute involved about 2.25 acres of land between Guddu Yadav and his cousin brother-in-law, Nayan Yadav.

Guddu had forcibly gotten the land registered in his name, but Nayan had been resisting his attempts to occupy it.

On Friday evening, tensions escalated when both sides clashed during the ploughing of the disputed field.

The attack and arson in the early morning are believed to be the fallout of that confrontation.

As soon as the incident was reported, Farbisganj SDPO Mukesh Kumar Saha rushed to the spot with reinforcements from multiple police stations.

Both the dead bodies were recovered from the crime scene and sent to Sadar Hospital for post-mortem.

A Forensic Scientific Lab (FSL) team has collected evidence from the site.

SDPO Saha confirmed the violence stemmed from a land dispute, adding, “Police are conducting a scientific and technical investigation. The culprits will be arrested soon.”

A heavy police presence has been deployed in the area to prevent further escalation. However, tension continues to grip Dhaneshwari Panchayat and adjoining villages, with locals demanding swift action against the accused to prevent the feud from spiralling further.

–IANS

ajk/dan