Giridih (Jharkhand), April 15 (IANS) Tension gripped Jharkhand’s Giridih district on Wednesday after a 26-year-old married woman died under suspicious circumstances on Tuesday evening, triggering violent protests by her parental family, who allegedly set her in-laws’ house on fire.

Police have since deployed security personnel in the village to maintain law and order.

According to police, the body of 26-year-old Bindiya Devi, wife of Chandan Kumar and a resident of Shyamnagar Tola, was recovered from a well located near the house. As soon as news of the incident spread, a large number of the deceased’s relatives reached the spot from Barhi (Ghatotand) in Hazaribagh district.

Grief quickly turned into anger as the woman’s family accused her in-laws of subjecting her to harassment. The situation escalated when the agitated relatives allegedly vandalised the house. Eyewitnesses said the mob later poured petrol on the property and set it ablaze, reducing household belongings to ashes within minutes.

Upon receiving the information, the Suriya police station team rushed to the spot and tried to pacify the violent crowd. Fire brigade vehicles managed to bring the fire under control after considerable effort. Police have taken custody of the body from the well and sent it for a postmortem.

Local sources say that there had been a domestic dispute between the deceased and her in-laws for some time, which may have led her to take the extreme step. However, the woman’s family has alleged that it is a case of murder.

According to the police, the situation in the village is currently peaceful, but security forces have been deployed as a precaution. Police officials said the exact cause of death will be known only after the post-mortem report.

Meanwhile, the police are identifying those involved in the arson and taking steps for legal action against them.

–IANS

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