Patna: A 26-year-old woman’s severed head and bloodstained clothes stuffed in a sack were recovered near a small river at Dumrahar village under Jalebiamor police station area in Banka district on Sunday evening. The torso is yet to be found, police said.The deceased was identified as Priyanka Kumari (26), wife of Vikas Pandit of Ranga village. She was identified by her father Sukhdev Pandit and brother Mantu Pandit of Matihani village. Priyanka was married five years ago and is survived by three daughters — Pallavi (4), Kusum (3) and a nine-month-old infant.Police detained the victim’s husband, mother-in-law and minor sister-in-law on Monday after her family alleged murder. They claimed she was tortured for not bearing a son. The head, buried about 1.5 feet deep, was pulled out by a dog. Shepherds and passers-by spotted it and alerted villagers, who informed the police. A team seized the head and blood-soaked clothes and launched a probe.Her father Sukhdev said, “I filed a complaint at Jalebiamor police station on Sunday morning after learning my daughter was missing. I suspect her in-laws made her disappear. Hours later, I was told about a woman’s head found near Dumrahar and identified my daughter at the spot.”The family alleged she was tortured for not bearing a son. They accused her husband and father-in-law of beating her under the influence of alcohol, and said her mother-in-law and sister-in-law also harassed her.During questioning, the mother-in-law and minor sister-in-law told police the couple frequently quarrelled. The family alleged the body was hidden after murder to destroy evidence. Police have detained Vikas Pandit, his mother Vimla Devi and his minor sister. Other family members are absconding and raids are on to trace them.Belhar SDPO Ravindra Mohan Prasad said, “Prima facie, it is a murder case. The woman was killed by slitting her throat. The search for the torso is underway and legal action is being taken.”SHO Raju Kumar Thakur said the severed head and bloodstained clothes were recovered but the torso is still missing. “All angles are being probed. An FSL team and a dog squad have been called to the spot,” he said.
