Man burns parents alive

Deadly avarice

 The matter would have remained under wraps had the neighbours not smelt a rat. The half-burnt bodies of the old couple—Nageshwar Jha (75) and his wife Tara Devi (65)—were found tied to a wooden pole in their house. Suspecting foul play, the neighbours informed the police, who took Mritunjay into custody and interrogated him.

 Within no time, the “murderer” son broke down and admitted to killing his parents since they had refused to part with the money received as PF and gratuity, following the retirement of Tara, a government school teacher.

According to sources, Mritunjay had demanded a large sum from the retirement benefits his mother had received. In fact, Tara even gave her wayward son a small chunk of her life-long savings. But Mritunjay demanded more.

The lure of lucre made him blind when he came to know that Tara also had an insurance policy of Rs 1.25 lakh, and he was the sole nominee.

On Tuesday, his mother spurned his demand for more money. Mritunjay’s father, too, snubbed him for his unending greed, provoking him to tie the couple when they were fast asleep. Mritunjay then doused the two with kerosene and set them ablaze.

On hearing about the gruesome killing, Begusarai SP Binay Kumar also reached the spot and interrogated the accused, who was eventually sent to jail.