A Dalit couple was allegedly killed by a shopkeeper with an axe on Thursday following an argument over Rs. 15 for a packet of biscuits in the Mainpuri district of Uttar Pradesh.
Ashok Mishra, the upper caste shopkeeper who has now been arrested, reportedly confronted the couple at 6 a.m. when they were on their way for paddy transplantation about the money they owed him for the biscuits.
Mishra lost his temper when they asked for some more time to pay and attacked the couple with an axe. The couple — Bharat Nat and his wife Mamta — died on the spot. The incident took place in the Kurra area of Lakhmipur village in Mainpuri district.
Following the murder, he hid in the village. The villagers informed the police who found and then arrested him.
"The villagers have told us that the couple had bought something worth Rs. 15 from the shopkeeper and that led to the killings. We have sent the bodies for post mortem and the accused has been arrested. We will take the strictest possible action against him," District Magistrate of Mainpuri Pramod Chandra Gupta was quoted by NDTV as saying.
The villagers have apparently said that Mishra had a bad temper and had abrupt ways.
Meanwhile, police forces have been sent to the area to prevent possible protests.
