RANCHI: In a story straight from a B-grade Bollywood potboiler, Arun Yadav (36) avenged his father's murder 22 years later by killing Bhola Oraon (45), the mukhiya (head) of Balshokra village in Chanho area. Oraon was accused of killing his father in 1992.

Police arrested Arun Yadav in a late Sunday night raid in Chanho village, eight days after he allegedly shot Oraon and stabbed him in a deserted area.

Khelari DSP Radha Prem Kishore said the accused claimed that he killed Oraon to avenge his father's death in 1992, when Yadav was just 14 years old.

About 23 people were accused of his father's murder. Oraon was one of the co-accused in the case and was also jailed in this connection. He, however, came out on bail later, said a police officer. "It is surprising to know that a man has taken revenge for the murder of his father 22 years later," said Kishore.

The mukhiya had gone to a marketplace in the evening on February 9. He did not return home as expected. A local informed his family members that his bike was lying abandoned near a road in Chanho. Soon the mukhiya's body was spotted by the local people.

The incident sparked widespread agitations in Chanho area. Locals blocked the Ranchi-Chanho highway in protest against the murder and kept the policemen on their toes. The road was blocked from morning till evening the next day (February 10). The locals were pacified only after hours of negotiations with policemen.

Kishore said, Yadav killed the mukhiya with the help of two of his aides. "We are conducting raids to arrest the two other accused. We will find them out soon," said Ranchi rural SP S K Jha.

Meanwhile, a 65-year-old woman was beaten to death by her cousin in Chanho area on Sunday night. The matter was brought to police on Monday morning after which the accused was arrested and a baton used to beat his aunt to death was seized. "It appears to be a matter of family feud over property. The investigation is going on," said Kishore.

