Patna: A man in Bihta allegedly murdered his elderly parents after his father refused to part with his pension money.

Munirka Yadav (70) and his wife Ramsundri Devi (60) were shot dead around midnight on Tuesday, allegedly by their younger son Awadesh Yadav (40), at Baiju village in the Bihta area around 40 km west of Patna.

Awadesh is absconding along with his wife after the murders.

Police sources said Munirka and his wife, after his retirement from the railways, were living with his elder son Ramesh Yadav's family.

Munirka used to get Rs 15,000 as pension and he would give the money to Ramesh for his children's education.

Awadesh, who lives nearby in the same village, was angry over this because he wanted the money for his children's education.

Awadesh, police sources said, had had heated arguments over this with his father on several occasions earlier.

On Tuesday too, Awadesh had a heated exchange with his father over the money.

Police sources said Awadesh barged into his brother's house and shot dead his parents who were sleeping in the courtyard.

Ramesh and his family members woke up on hearing the noise and found his parents in a pool of blood.

"Awadesh's son, a minor who was living with his grandparents, has told the police that he saw his father firing on Munirka Yadav and Ramsundri Devi," said Bihta police station house officer Ranjit Kumar Singh.

"Prima facie it appears that Awadesh's wife too was involved in the conspiracy as she after the incident ran away along with her husband. The police have launched a hunt to nab Awadesh and his wife."

Awadesh, who works with a private firm in the Hajipur area, has three children - two from his first wife who died a few years back, and a son from his second wife.

Ramesh said Munirka had got Rs 22 lakh after retirement around 10 years ago.

"He gave Rs 8 lakh each to us brothers and kept Rs 6 lakh for himself for a rainy day," Ramesh said.

"However, for the past few years, Awadesh was exerting pressure on our father for his pension money," he added.

City-based psychologist Binda Singh said such incidents reflect how society is becoming money-centric.

"People are becoming more and more materialistic and have no respect for the elders, especially their parents," Singh said.

"The relationship is only for money."