A man from Bhagalpur district allegedly had his newlywed wife and her sister gang-raped and murdered because his wife had objected to his extramarital affair.
The victim's father, Kailash Yadav, a resident of Badi Govindpur village in Munger district, had lodged a complaint with Dharhara police station in Munger on September 9, saying he feared his daughters had been abducted.
Police recovered the skeletons of the sisters - Chanda Devi, 24, and Vinita Kumari, 18 - from Khajuridih village in Banka district on Thursday.
Chanda had married Gaurav Yadav (30), a resident of Srirampur village in Bhagalpur, on July 18 this year.
Gaurav surrendered to police after they picked up his mother, Krishna Devi, for interrogation on Wednesday, and he was taken on remand.
Gaurav told interrogators that his associates raped the sisters before strangling them to death on the night of September 6, police sources said.
Gaurav had kidnapped Chanda and her unwed sister, Vinita, from Jamalpur area in Munger district on September 6 this year, the police sources added. Before killing them, Gaurav had visited a temple near Sultanganj in Bhagalpur district with his wife and sister-in-law. The victims' identities were ascertained from the clothes they were wearing.
Munger sub-divisional police officer Lalit Mohan Sharma said prima facie, the case appeared to be that of gang-rape and subsequent murder.
"Samples of the skeletons will be sent to the state forensic science laboratory for examination," he added.
Sharma said Gaurav visited his in-laws on September 6 and took his wife and her sister to Jamalpur. The police started searching for the girls after a complaint was lodged.
Initially, Gaurav tried to mislead the police but broke down after sustained interrogation. The police are hunting for Gaurav's associate, Krishnajeet Yadav, who is absconding. Munger superintendent of police Ashish Bharti said two accused had been arrested in the case.
He also announced that members of the special police team will be rewarded for cracking the case fast.
