india

Updated: Jul 09, 2019 08:17 IST

A 12-year-old boy was bludgeoned to death allegedly by a 17 year-old over suspected business rivalry between two families at Kathariya village in Bihar’s East Champaran district, about 150 km north of the capital Patna on Sunday night, police said.

According to police, the victim was sleeping outside his house night when the accused crushed his head with a big stone.

“In the course of the investigation, we came to know the business rivalry as the main motive behind the incident,” said Rajesh Kumar, station house officer (SHO) of Lakhaura police station.

“The family members and the boy are on run after the incident. No arrests have been made in this connection. However, the raids are on,” the SHO said.

Police said the incident around 2 a.m. The victim’s family found his body lying in a pool of blood with his face disfigured around 5:50 a.m. On receiving information, police reached the spot and started investigation. The police seized the stone allegedly used in the murder from the spot.

A villager, who refused to be identified, said families of the victim and the alleged killer run grocery shops, located in front of their houses.

“Jealous at the brisk business of the victim, the alleged killer had threatened the boy who used to manage the shop in his father’s absence, with dire consequences on more than one occasion in the past, but the family members had ignored the threat,” said the villager.

Police said they were raiding several places to locate the accused and his family members. “We will apprehend them soon and justice would be done to the victim’s family,” the SHO said.