Purnea/Nalanda (Bihar), Jul 7 (PTI) At least seven people were killed in two separate incidents in Bihar over the last 24 hours, police said on Monday.

In Purnea district, five members of a family were killed and their bodies set on fire by villagers on suspicion of practising witchcraft.

Also Read | Mumbai: Video of MNS Leader's Drunk, Half-Naked Son Rahil Shaikh Abusing Influencer Rajshree More Goes Viral, Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena Demands Action (Watch Video).

In a separate incident in Nalanda district, a 22-year-old woman and another person were shot dead after a dispute between children from two neighbouring families escalated into violence.

Police said that initial probe suggested that five members of a family in Tetma village in Purnea were first murdered on suspicion of practising witchcraft.

Also Read | Dating App Scam Busted in Borivali: 22 Arrested After Mumbai Police Bust Gang Duping People With Inflated Hotel Bills, Know the Modus Operandi.

Two persons have been arrested in connection with the murders, and a manhunt has been launched to nab the other accused, they said.

Police are trying to ascertain the identity of the deceased.

"Preliminary investigation suggests that five members of a family in Tetma village were first murdered on suspicion of practising witchcraft. It appears that the accused then burnt their bodies in a bush. The incident took place on Sunday night," DIG (Purnea) Pramod Kumar Mandal told PTI.

Senior officials are at the spot, besides forensic experts and a dog squad to assist the investigators, he said.

In Nalanda's Dumrawan village, two persons, including a 22-year-old woman, were shot dead on Sunday night when members of two families fired at each other over a domestic dispute, police said.

The deceased have been identified as Annu Kumari, daughter of Om Prakash Paswan, and Himanshu Kumar (24), son of Santosh Paswan, Nalanda Deputy SP Ram Dular Prasad said.

"Upon receiving information about the firing incident, a police team immediately reached the spot and took the injured to the nearest government hospital, where they were declared dead. Bodies have been sent for the post-mortem examinations. The exact cause of the incident is not known," Prasad said.

Villagers claimed that a dispute among the children of two families over a game turned violent, and both sides started firing.

A case has been registered and the investigation is underway, the officer added.

The deceased families also staged a protest outside the hospital over the alleged lack of facilities to manage emergency cases.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)