Patna: Police on Sunday arrested a man after his wife and four children were found dead in a waterbody near Babhanauli village under Govindganj police station area in East Champaran district on Aug 7. The accused, Dharmendra Kumar, was arrested following an FIR lodged by the woman’s family, who alleged that the deaths were the result of a planned murder rather than an accident.The deceased were identified as Sushila Devi (30), wife of Dharmendra Kumar, and their four children — Amrita Kumari (11), Avinash Kumar (8), Pammi Kumar (6) and Ravi Kumar (4).According to the FIR filed by Sushila’s brother, Shyamanand Mahto, the woman had allegedly been subjected to harassment over a demand for a motorcycle since her marriage. The family alleged that Sushila and her children were killed and their bodies dumped in the waterbody.Dharmendra had told police that Sushila left home with the children on the evening of Aug 6 to cut grass from the fields but did not return. He claimed that after searching for them through the night, he was informed the next morning that bodies were lying in stagnant water. On reaching the spot, he identified the bodies of his wife and children, following which villagers retrieved them from the water.“My sister was harassed and killed by Dharmendra and his family before their bodies were thrown into the water,” Shyamanand alleged in the complaint. Locals said Dharmendra and Sushila had been married for about 12 years and lived separately from his parents along with their four children.Govindganj SHO Sachidanand Pandey said the husband had been arrested and raids were underway to apprehend other accused named in the FIR. “However, the exact cause of death will be known only after the postmortem report. We are investigating all angles, including whether it was an accident or a premeditated murder,” the SHO said.
