The couple, hacked to death with an axe, allegedly owed Rs. 15 to shopkeeper.
A couple was hacked to death with an axe allegedly by a shopkeeper in Uttar Pradesh on Thursday. What led to the gruesome killing was an argument over Rs 15 for a packet of biscuits.
Ashok Mishra, who owns a grocery store in Mainpuri, has been arrested.
The couple allegedly owed him Rs 15 for biscuits they had recently taken from the shop.
According to reports, Mishra confronted them when they were on their way to work at around 6 am today.
When they begged for more time to pay, he flew into a rage.
Mishra allegedly picked up an axe lying nearby and attacked the couple. Both died on the spot.
The shopkeeper panicked and hid in the village until a police team, alerted by villagers, found 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,” said Pramod Chandra Gupta, District Magistrate, Mainpuri.
The incident has generated fresh waves of shock at a time atrocities against Dalits is being aggressively debated by political parties.
The victims were Dalits and the alleged killer is from an upper caste.
Many villagers, however, said that the accused man was known for his temper and brusque ways.
The village is on the edge and a large police force has been sent to prevent any protests or flare-up.
Earlier this month, four Dalit young men were flogged, tied to an SUV and paraded at Una in Gujarat by cow vigilantes for skinning a dead cow.