A mango orchard guard was allegedly murdered by a father-son duo in Malda’s Englishbazar when he fought with them over their cows entering the orchard on Saturday evening.

Police arrested the duo within hours of recovering the body of Radheshyam Ghosh alias Nodu, 65, of Piranibari village in Mahadipur.

Those arrested are Rajkumar Ghosh aka Daku, 30, and his father Motilal Ghosh of Ghosh, 62, of Mahadipur Ghoshpara.

Malda SP Pradeep Kumar Yadav said: “The duo confessed that an altercation broke out after their cows entered a mango orchard being guarded by Nodu.”

According to the official, in the heat of the moment, Rajkumar attacked Nodu with a sharp weapon and Motilal beat him severely with a bamboo stick.

“Nodu Ghosh died before he could be shifted to Malda Medical College and Hospital,” said Yadav.

Malda SP Pradeep Kumar Yadav and additional SP (headquarters) Sambhav Jain expressed concern over the spread of rumours across Englishbazar in the last few days aimed at causing tensions between communities.

Certain elements may be deliberately spreading rumours to disturb communal harmony, cops said.

“A fire caused by short-circuit was misconstrued as arson. A man with a drilling machine was mistaken for someone with a machine gun. On probe, the claims were found to be false,” said Jain.

The police requested the public not to believe or spread unverified information. Jain warned those found responsible for spreading false rumours would face legal action.