A six-year-old boy succumbed to injuries on Wednesday after one of his relatives beat him up over an alleged land dispute between two families at Saramohanpur village. The child’s mother and grandmother, too, were injured.

The child, Dilkhush Sahani, had been admitted to Darbhanga Medical College and Hospital (DMCH) on Tuesday after one Mangal Sahani, a relative of the boy, beat up all three of them with an iron rod.

The boy’s mother, Sunita Devi, is under treatment at DMCH. The deceased was a resident of Brahamasthan in the Saramohanpur area of the district, about 175km northeast of Patna.

Sunita’s husband, a labourer in Mumbai, was informed of the incident. The family of the deceased did not have any male member and hence the treatment of the mother and the child had been delayed resulting in death. Sources said had there been any adult male member, the three would have been taken to some private hospital or clinic for treatment.

Angry villagers also blocked National Highway 57 at Saramohanpur Chowk for over three hours from 9am. The blockade was finally lifted after the district administration assured them of justice and arrest of Mangal.

Assistant superintendent of police Aditya Kumar told The Telegraph: “Mangal Sahani is a close relative of Sunita. A family dispute over land resulted in death of the boy. A case of murder has been instituted under Sadar police station in which Mangal has been named as the accused. At present, Mangal and his family members are absconding.”

Aditya said: “The villagers had blocked the highway at Saramohanpur Chowk for over three hours but we managed to lift the blockade after ensuring the people of speedy justice and arrest of the accused. The body has been sent for a post-mortem to Darbhanga Medical College and Hospital. After the post-mortem, the body would be handed over to a relative of the deceased. Investigation is on and it is too early to comment on what led to the dispute.”

Arjun Sahani, a resident of Saramohanpur, said: “There was a family dispute over land between Shibu and his uncle Mangal. Petty fights were quite common between Shibu’s wife Sunita and Mangal but on Tuesday, things took an ugly turn. Mangal beat the three members of the family with an iron rod. Dilkhush was critically injured and died during course of treatment at DMCH today (Wednesday). Sunita is under treatment.”