By Laxman Paudel, Bhairahawa, Mar. 8: As the nation was marking International Women’s day, a news report from Bhairahawa said that a husband and brother-in-law have killed a woman in the Rupandehi district in a bid to receive her insurance money.

Kushum Lodh of Sammarimai Rural Municipality-5 in the district was killed by her husband Shailesh Kumar Lodh and brother-in-law Rajesh Kumar Lodh out of the greed of claiming the money, according to police.

That secret was revealed after the police arrested them on suspicion of murdering her.

"It has been revealed that Kushum was killed by her husband and brother-in-law during domestic disputes over the issue of insurance money," said Prabin Pokharel, Superintendent of Police (SP) and chief of the District Police Office, Rupendehi.

Preliminary police investigation showed that Kushum was found insured in two different insurance offices and in case of her death, the loan taken by her would also be waived.

Police said that both the accused have confessed to the crime, and they are now in the custody of Area Police Office, Lumbini.

A patrol team of security personnel deployed from the Area Police Office, Lumbini had found the copiously-bleeding woman on the Jhulnipur-Patijia Sipawa-section road in Kothimai Rural Municipality-1 on February 27.

According to SP Pokharel, Shailesh told the police that there were four passengers in the Lu 2 Cha 1517-numbered pickup vehicle who repeatedly hit her from the back before snatching her necklace at gunpoint.

Police added that Shailesh had himself lodged a complaint about the murder at the police office, falsely claiming they were robbed by the thugs who also hit his wife with the vehicle, killing her eventually.  

Later when the police interrogated the alleged vehicle owners and persons involved in the murder as mentioned by Shailesh, they were found not being involved in the crime.

During the second phase of the investigation, the police who were already pointing their finger at him proved his involvement in the murder through technical analysis and biological tests.