A 59-year-old man was allegedly attacked fatally by his brother-in-law and some others at a village in Dhupguri block of Jalpaiguri district on Saturday over a family dispute involving an ancestral house.

Gobinda Mondal, the victim, died of his injuries at a private nursing home in Siliguri. He died on Saturday night.

Police have started a probe and arrested three persons so far.

Sources said that Gobinda Mondal and his brotherinlaw Suranjan Mondal did not see eye to eye over the ownership of a house. Both the families of Gobinda and Suranjan reside in Jharsalbari under Dhupguri police station.

Uttam, the deceased’ son, said: “My grandfather built the house around 25 years back for us. After his death, my uncle (Suranjan) and his sons tried to take the house from us. Yesterday (Saturday), they attacked us in a planned manner and beat my father and us. My father did not survive his injuries.”

Gobinda, who was reportedly beaten up with rods and sticks, was rushed to Jalpaiguri and admitted to a private nursing home in Siliguri where he died.

The victim’s family filed a complaint with the police based on which a case was registered.

Those arrested are Pradip Sarkar, Ganga Roy and Sujit Sarkar, all from Cooch Behar district. They are all related to Suranjan, who is absconding.

“The incident is the fallout of an old dispute between two families. Three persons have been arrested. During preliminary investigation, it was found that Suranjan had brought some of his relatives home. We are searching for him. Our men have been posted in the village,” said a police officer. "