A long-standing land dispute in Bihar’s Araria district turned violent on Saturday, claiming two lives and resulting in a house being set ablaze. The incident occurred around 3 am in Dhaneshwari Panchayat Ward-13 under the Bhargama police station area.

According to police, the clash broke out near the depot and residence of Panchayat Samiti member Guddu Yadav. Unknown assailants allegedly shot dead 40-year-old Jaikumar Yadav, son of Vishnudev Yadav, while he was sleeping inside the depot.

Following the gunfire, locals rushed to the scene. Enraged, they allegedly set a house on fire in retaliation, where Nayan Yadav was present. He sustained severe burn injuries and later died.

Villagers revealed the dispute involved approximately 2.25 acres of land between Guddu Yadav and his cousin brother-in-law, Nayan Yadav. Guddu had reportedly registered the land in his name, but Nayan had been opposing his attempts to occupy it. The tension escalated on Friday evening during a confrontation over ploughing the disputed land, which is believed to have triggered the deadly attack and arson early Saturday morning.

Farbisganj SDPO Mukesh Kumar Saha rushed to the spot with additional police forces from nearby stations. Both bodies were recovered and sent for post-mortem, while a Forensic Scientific Lab (FSL) team collected evidence from the crime scene.

Confirming the motive, SDPO Saha said, “Police are conducting a scientific and technical investigation. The culprits will be arrested soon.” Heavy security deployment has been made in the area to prevent further violence. However, tension continues to prevail in Dhaneshwari Panchayat and adjoining villages, with locals demanding immediate action to stop the feud from escalating further.