Patna/Purnia: Two young men have been arrested in Bihar’s Purnia district after allegedly killing their five-year-old cousin brother and three-year-old cousin sister, and seriously injuring a one-year-old girl, following a family argument over drug use. The deceased have been named as Mohammad Inayat and his sister Gulnaz Begum, children of the resident Mohammad Mahjoob Alam.
Police said the attack took place on Tuesday night in Dhingaunch village, under Rauta police station, after the children’s father objected to his nephew consuming alcohol and smack. According to investigators, the accused – identified as 20-year-old Arbaz and his friend, 22-year-old Mohammad Hasnain – entered the victims’ home while the family was outside trying to settle a separate quarrel.
Officers allege the pair struck the sleeping children on the head with the iron top of a hand pump. The one-year-old girl, identified as Kulsoom Begum, survived with critical injuries and is being treated at Purnia GMCH.
Postmortem examinations have been completed, and the bodies have been handed to the family.
The children’s father told police that Arbaz had a history of alcohol and drug addiction and frequently fought with his own father. He said he had often reprimanded Arbaz for substance use, which may have triggered the violent retaliation.
A forensic team collected samples from the scene on Wednesday, and an FIR has been registered based on the father’s statement. Both accused men were arrested from the village shortly after the crime, police confirmed.
