Skeletal remains of missing Jharkhand brothers found in Jamui

Skeletal remains of two brothers, who went missing from Jharkhand’s Giridih district a month back, were found in forests under Jamui’s Khaira police station area on Wednesday evening, police said on Thursday.

The duo’s family identified the deceased from their clothes, shoes and motorcycle, police said.

The deceased were identified as Chandan Barnwal (26) and Anshu Barnwal (22), residents of Pandnatand village under Teesri police station of Giridih district.

According to the police, the two went missing after they left their homes on June 22 to collect money from some traders in Doranda. Their mobile phones were also found switched off since then, officials said.

Police suspect that the duo had fallen into the trap of a gang who duped people by offering to exchange original currency with double the amount of fake currency.

However, no arrests have been made so far in this connection.

“The bodies were found in a highly decomposed condition. It seems like the two died days ago. We have sent the bodies for autopsy to ascertain the exact cause of their death,” said Jamui superintendent of police (SP) Pramod Kumar Mandal. The family members of the deceased informed that the duo incurred a loss of over ₹40 lakh due to fraudulent gang, one of whose members was identified as Prabhakar Mandal alias Baba, the SP said.

As per available information, some locals of Manwa forest on Wednesday evening found the skeletal remains when they were out in the woods to collect firewood. They spotted a motorcycle , shoes, masks and clothes in some bushes. The duo’s brother identified the clothes as those of his brothers, after which police was informed.

Earlier, the duo’s father had lodged a complaint with the concerned police station, suspecting his sons’ abduction or murder. Few days after, the duo’s maternal uncle also recovered a purse of one of his nephews on July 2 near Garhi Dam under Khaira police station. However, police paid no heed, he alleged.