Man may have been bumped off by siblings over property dispute

A man was found lying dead beside a pond in Dhupguri's Harinkhaoya of Jalpaiguri district late Thursday night.

Police arrested two brothers and two sisters of the deceased, identified as 35-year-old Mohammed Salim.

An auto driver by profession, Salim had reportedly been involved in a tiff with his brothers and elder sisters a few days ago over the possession of family property.

Some local residents informed the police that Salim's body was seen lying beside a pond.

Later, his wife, Fatima Biwi, lodged complaint with the local police station alleging that her in-laws killed Salim.

The murder was the fall out of the property dispute, the victim's wife told police.

"We have started an investigation. The accused will be interrogated and we are now collecting evidence for the case," an investigating officer said.

Fatima Biwi informed police that Salim's siblings had once called him up for discussions over the property-related issues. They reportedly asked him to sign some papers, but Salim refused to cede to their demands. This, Fatima Biwi said, infuriated the siblings.

"They killed my husband. They could also kill me," Salim's wife claimed.

A team of the local police reached the house of deceased for further investigation into the incident.

They seized some property papers that were restored in Salim's cupboard.

Police also went to the houses of Salim's siblings and investigators collected papers from their residences as well.

Later, the investigators called up the neighbours for interrogation. They asked the neighbours about Salim's relationship with his brothers and sisters.

"The murder is something suspicious. We need to find out how the man was killed and who took his body beside the pond," said a police officer.

Meanwhile, police sent the victim's body for post-mortem examination. "The body has been sent for post-mortem. We are waiting for the primary report of the examination," the officer added.