DHADING: At least 31 people including four women have been taken in police custody in connection with the murder of two persons in Ganga Jamuna Rural Municipality of Dhading district.

The villagers reportedly beat Plek Tamang (64) aka Purung Mahila and Narung Tamang (52) Narwung to death on Saturday.

The deceased were working as jhankris or shamans who used ritualistic practices to cure patients.

According to Superintendent of Police Dambar BK at the District Police Office, Dhading, a police team involved in the investigation reached the village, detained the suspects, and handed them over to the DPO on Monday night.

It has been reported that police arrived at the incident site two days after the incident due to its remote location.

A team including 60 security personnel deployed from the DPO and Armed Police Force under the command of Sub Inspector of Police Ram Bahadur KC, rounded up the suspects from Latav village. The DPO has informed that the detained will be produced before the District Court on Tuesday.

SP BK informed, the police team was sent to the incident site on Sunday morning after they received news that the bodies of the deceased had already been cremated by the villagers at 6:00 pm on Saturday evening, following their death at 4:00 pm.

The relatives of the deceased have complained that the villagers beat the Tamang duo mercilessly on Friday night and repeated the beating until they succumbed to it on Saturday.

"The incident has remained mysterious as the villagers cremated the bodies without informing the police or local representatives," said chair of Ganga Jamuna Rural Municipality Bal Bahadur Adhikari.