A fuel pump manager and his son were hacked to death by unidentified persons in Purulia on Saturday night when the duo were returning home on a motorcycle after work.

Police said the killers decamped with the bike, phones and cash after murdering Madan Pandey,70, and his son Kanhai, 35, at a deserted spot near Kanali village, on the outskirts of Purulia town.

Kanhai’s wife said they had no enemies.

Sources said the victims lived nearby.

Police said Pandey and his son worked at the petrol pump on Chash Road in Mufassil police station area.

“They were returning home after work on Saturday night as usual. Unidentified assailants murdered them and took their bike, cash and mobile phones. Prima facie we suspect they were murdered for their valuables,” said an investigating officer.

Residents spotted the bodies left by a field and informed the families and police. Police were unable to trace the phones and bike as of Sunday afternoon.

On Sunday, residents blocked the nearby NH32 connecting Purulia and Bokaro in Jharkhand for an hour demanding immediate arrest of the culprits and police security.

“Many of us from the village go to Purulia and elsewhere for work and return home late at night. We are feeling insecure after these murders. The condition of the road leading to our village where the murders took place is bad,” alleged Shibaram Pandey, a local resident.

Local people alleged there was no police patrol in the area at night. “We demand immediate arrest of the culprits and a police outpost here. We are feeling insecure,” said Sushil Pandey, another local resident.

The roadblock was lifted after police promised prompt arrests and beefing up of the local night patrol.

Purulia police superintendent S. Selvamurugan said probe was on. “We have alerted all neighbouring police stations and a search is on for the culprits,” he said.

Kanhai's wife Mamoni Pandey said she called her husband around 8.30pm on Saturday night but the phone kept ringing. “My husband and father-in-law used to return home from work by 9pm regularly. On Saturday, I called up on my husband’s phone twice around 8.30pm but they remained unanswered. Around 10pm, neighbours informed us about their deaths,” said Mamoni, adding they had no enemies in the locality. “Everybody loved my husband and father-in-law. I do not know who could murder them. I want strict punishment to those have killed them,” she said.

An employee of the petrol pump where the duo worked said they left around 8pm on Saturday. “I came to know about the murders on Sunday morning. I am shocked and surprised. Both were very honest and good people,” he said.

Leopard carcass found

A forester from Darjeeling division on Sunday recovered a female melanistic leopard’s body from the Singalila National Park.

A driver with the forest department first spotted the carcass of the animal, commonly referred to as black leopard, lying by a road at Gundrugram, a spot between Maneybhanjan and Dhotrey.

Preliminary observations suggested death from external injury, with foresters suspecting a “gunshot”.

Post-mortem, however, failed to locate any bullet.

Sources said that the animal could have died as the result of a fight with another leopard.

“It was a melanistic female adult leopard. After recovering its body, vets conducted a post-mortem. Initial report suggests the animal died because of infighting, because it has no bullet injury,” Pankaj Suryavansi, the divisional forest officer of Darjeeling forest division, said.

Bireswar Banerjee