Itahari, March 21:

Businessmen shut Itahari bazaar of Sunsari district today in protest against the mysterious murder of a couple.

The bodies of Kailash Chandra Agrawal, 51, owner of Dantkali Hardware stores at Itahari chowk, and his wife Kanta Devi, 46, were found today after an unknown gang hacked them to death three days ago, said the area police office.

Agrawal’s body bore wounds inflicted with a sharp-edged weapon on the temple and other parts. The gang killed his wife by pouring acid down her throat and strangling her with a nylon cord. According to police, the couple was murdered on Tuesday. The bodies had already started decomposing.

The couple’s daughter smelt a rat when she found the shop closed and no one at the house picked up the phone after she tried to contact her parents and tell them that she had arrived from New Delhi for Holi.

She informed other relatives who also tried to contact the Agrawals.

However, when there was no response from their side, police broke open the shutter of the shop. Agrawal’s and his wife’s bodies were found in the shop.

Police said the whole house was in disarray and added that the murderers made off with cash and ornaments worth Rs 50 lakhs. Agrawal’s employee and a neighbour Madhav Thakur were arrested on the suspicion of their involvement in the crime.

Meanwhile, the Sunsari Chambers of Commerce and Industries shut down Itahari bazaar demanding action against the killers.

Issuing a release, SCCI vice-president Rohit Prasai demanded a probe into the incident and arrest of the killers. Transport services were also shut in support of the strike.