Five men storm house, kill woman, injure four in Khagaria

Patna: A 28-year-old woman died and four of her family members sustained serious injuries after five men allegedly stormed their house and attacked them with sharp-edged weapons in Khagaria district on Monday.The attack was linked to a two-year-old dispute between the family and some local youths who had allegedly taken items from their shop without permission. When the family objected, tensions escalated, with the accused threatening them to sell their land and leave the village.The deceased has been identified as Archana Kumari (28), a resident of Karuamor village under Chautham police station. The injured are her father Jaikant Paswan (50), mother Parvati Devi (40), daughter Pari Kumari (10), and son Yash Kumar (8).According to Archana’s brother Rahul Kumar, she had arrived at her parental home with her children for summer holidays two days ago. Around 3am on Monday, four to five armed men knocked on the door. When Archana opened it, they pushed her to the ground and attacked the family members inside before fleeing through the roof.All the injured were taken to Sadar hospital in Khagaria, where Archana was declared dead around 6.30am. Jaikant and Parvati were later referred to a higher centre.Following the incident, angry villagers and family members blocked NH-107 for nearly two hours, burning tyres and demanding the immediate arrest of the accused. Traffic was severely disrupted, with long queues of vehicles on both sides.Police and administrative officials reached the spot and pacified the protesters after assuring swift action and a fair probe, following which the blockade was lifted.SDPO (Sadar-1) Mukul Ranjan said blood samples collected from the house have been sent for forensic examination. “Raids are being conducted to trace the accused. All angles, including the old dispute, are being probed,” he said.