Man stabbed to death by nephew over land dispute

A middle-aged man was murdered by his nephew over a land dispute at Ludred village in Nagrota Bagwan sub-division of the Kangra district on Sunday.

While confirming this, a senior police official at the district headquarters in Dharamsala said that the victim’s nephew, identified as Sukhbinder Singh, stabbed him multiple times.

The deceased has been identified as Ashok Kumar, a resident of Ludred village. Kumar was on his way to work in the morning when he was confronted by his nephew. 

An argument broke out during which the nephew allegedly pulled out a knife from his pocket and stabbed Kumar at least eight times.

Family members and village people rushed Ashok Kumar to Dr Rajendra Prasad Government Medical College and Hospital at Tanda, but the doctors on duty declared him brought dead.

The police officials said that Sukhbinder went home after the incident.

Taking a swift action, the local police nabbed him from his house.

The DSP of Kangra Ankit Sharma told the local media, “The accused has been arrested. The murder appears to be linked to a land dispute. Further investigation is underway.”

According to the villagers, the two families had been involved in a long-standing dispute over property, including compensation for land acquired under the four-lane national highway project. 

Ashok Kumar had recently built a house under a government housing scheme, where he was living with his wife and two daughters.

They added that the deceased had earlier filed complaints against his nephew, but the dispute remained unresolved. They said tensions had been escalating over the past few months and culminated in Sunday’s fatal attack.

Meanwhile, the police had registered a criminal case of murder and sent the body to the medical college hospital for post-mortem examination.