Patna: Unidentified miscreants strangled a 65-year-old farmer near his farm field in Paithanchak village under Pandarak police station area in Barh subdivision of Patna district on Monday morning. His body was found with a ‘gamcha’ tied around his neck.The deceased was identified as Bihari Mahto, son of late Bhuka Mahto. His family alleged that he was killed after he confronted people suspected of stealing crops from his field.According to family members, Bihari left home around 4am to guard his brinjal and pointed gourd crops. They said crop theft had been reported regularly in the area and farmers cultivating nearby fields had also faced similar problems. The family alleged that Bihari confronted suspected thieves after reaching his field, following which a scuffle broke out and he was strangled with a gamcha.Police received information about the incident around 6.30am and reached the spot. The body was sent for the postmortem, while an FSL team was called to collect forensic and technical evidence from the spot.Barh SDPO Ayush Shrivastava said the circumstances prima facie suggested strangulation and the case appeared to be one of murder. However, he said the exact motive and number of people involved had not been established.“The family members have alleged murder. Police are investigating all aspects of the case and questioning people in the area. The accused have not yet been identified,” Shrivastava said.He added that those involved would be identified and arrested if the investigation and forensic evidence confirmed the murder. He also assured local farmers that there was no need to panic and that police were taking steps to identify the accused.
