Senior JMM leader Shankar Rawani and his wife Balika Devi were found murdered at their residence in Jharkhand’s Dhanbad district on Sunday (October 11).

Dhanbad city Superintendent of Police Ram Kumar told PTI that prima facie the couple was shot and then stabbed to death at their home in Bhowra area. The police recovered an empty cartridge of 9mm pistol and a knife from the room.

According to the SP, neighbours found out about the murder and informed the police, following which he, along with Sindri DSP SK Sinha and other officers, reached the spot and found the two bodies lying in a pool of blood.

Sniffer dogs have been deployed at the scene of crime, and a hunt has been launched to nab the killer, Kumar said, adding that the murder could be a fallout of old enmity.