Janakpurdham. March 25

An ageing couple in the Mahottari district of southeastern Nepal, who was missing since February 22, 2021, has been found dead, today. Musafir Jha (66) and his wife Geeta Devi (60), residents of Pipara rural municipality-5, were incommunicado since February 22.

Police had suspected they might have been abducted, however, no evidence had been found.DIG Dhiraj Pratap Singh, the chief of the Province 2 Police Office, says their bodies were found buried near a pathway in Pipara-2 today.“They were in a big pit,” Singh says, “This place is around 3.5 km away from their house.”

Earlier, police had arrested four persons including an Indian national on the charge of abduction. Later, police had also seen some drops of blood at the house of a suspect.

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The bodies of the Jha couple were found buried in Pipra-2 on Thursday. Salt has also been used to melt the bodies. Police have concluded that the Jha couple was killed because they refused to sell the land. According to the police, Harendra Thakur, the neighbour, had tried to buy land from the Jha couple with the intention of plotting. Jha's wife Gita Devi disagreed on the issue of selling the land that Thakur had set his eyes on.

Earlier, police had arrested four accused on the suspicion of their involvement in the case. Among the arrested, including Thakur, are Thakur's partner in buying and selling land, Rambabu Yadav and his two sons; 26-year-old Surendra Yadav and 24-year-old Rajendra Yadav.