Private firm staffer killed over denial to bill manipulation; Four arrested in Jharkhand

An employee of a private construction firm was allegedly abducted and killed in Jharkhand's Giridih district after he refused to prepare inflated fuel bills, leading to the arrest of four people, police said on Wednesday.

Manjesh Singh of Bihar's Lakhisarai district went missing just 15 days after joining the firm as a clerk. Jharkhand police started an investigation into the missing case, which led them to the main accused, Pintu Yadav, a tractor driver.

Following Yadav's interrogation, police recovered the missing man's body from a forest in Bihar's Jamui district, around four kilometres from Giridih, they said.

"We arrested four people, including two employees of the company. Police recovered the victim's body on Tuesday based on inputs provided by the main accused Pintu Yadav, a tractor driver," Khorimahua SDPO Amrendra Kumar told PTI.

During interrogation, the accused told investigators they had been receiving extra payment by inflating the diesel bill for the tractors.

Singh did not allow bill manipulation, which soured his relationship with his colleagues and project manager Upendra Choudhary. The colleagues and the project manager hatched a conspiracy with Yadav to kill Singh, police said.

Six people abducted the victim on Sunday from the Khatponk area while he was riding his motorcycle, took him to a nearby jungle and beat him to death before crushing his head with a stone, the police officer said.

Police recovered the murder weapons from the site, Tisri police station's officer-in-charge Shambhu Nand Ishwar said.

The victim's body has been sent for post-mortem, the official said, adding that a search was underway for the other two accused, including the project manager.