UP shopkeeper beheads Dalit couple over ₹15

In a shocking incident, an upper-caste shopkeeper hacked a Dalit couple to death on Thursday after they failed to clear a debt of ₹15 in Uttar Pradesh’s Mainpuri.

The incident has sparked a major protest, following which the police arrested the shopkeeper, Ashok Mishra.

According to reports, the dalit couple allegedly owed him ₹15 for biscuits they had recently taken from the shop. On Thursday morning at around 6 am, the couple, who are daily wagers, were on the way to work, when they were confronted by Mishra.

The couple requested the shopkeeper for some more time, however, at this Mishra lost his cool and attacked the two with an axe.

“The villagers have told us that the couple had bought something worth Rs. 15 from the shopkeeper and that led to the killings. We have sent the bodies for post mortem and the accused has been arrested. We will take the strictest possible action against him,” said Pramod Chandra Gupta, District Magistrate, Mainpuri told NDTV.

The local residents said that Mishra, who is in his sixties, is known for his ill-temper.

“The heads of both of them were severed; the man’s body had nine wounds and woman’s seven,” said a police officer who visited the incident spot.

The five children of the deceased couple - Bharat Nat, 45, and Mamta, 40 - have been placed under the custody of one of their neighbours for the time being, officials said.