Patna: A 65-year-old woman died and four of her family members sustained serious injuries in an alleged attack over dumping of garbage in a lane at Bahapur village under Pachmahal police station area of Patna district on Saturday night. The incident sparked protests on Sunday, with villagers blocking the Patna-Bhagalpur NH-80 with the victim’s body. Police have arrested four accused in connection with the case.The woman, Shanti Devi, was allegedly attacked along with Aarti Devi, Vipul Mistry, Mahesh Mistry and Phoolan Devi around 8pm following a dispute between two groups over garbage being dumped in a village lane, police said.Barh SDPO-II Ayush Shrivastava said four named accused, identified as Sonu Kumar, Malo Devi, Makhoran Mahato and Dheeraj Kumar, allegedly assaulted the victims with weapons. All five injured were taken to Barhiya Referral Hospital, where Shanti Devi died during treatment. The others are undergoing treatment.Police said Aarti Devi, who sustained serious injuries, allegedly suffered a miscarriage on Sunday morning while undergoing treatment in Lakhisarai. Her miscarriage and Shanti Devi’s death triggered anger among villagers, who staged a road blockade on NH-80 and demanded justice for the affected family.Police teams from Pachmahal and Maranchi police stations were deployed at the protest site to maintain law and order. Officials said the situation was later brought under control.Shrivastava said the two groups had clashed earlier on Sept 22 over the same lane and garbage disposal issue. Two cases, Pachmahal police station case numbers 81/26 and 82/26, were registered after the earlier altercation and are under investigation.A separate case has been registered in connection with Shanti Devi’s death. The four named accused have been arrested, while efforts are on to identify and apprehend others allegedly involved in the attack.Police said the crime spot was preserved and forensic experts were called to assist the investigation. Further action would be taken based on the findings of the probe.
