The longstanding dispute between the mayor and deputy mayor of Hansapur Municipality in Dhanusha district has taken a nasty turn, with each side blaming the other for the death of a local man during a clash last month.

Supporters of Mayor Ramagyan Mandal and Deputy Mayor Renu Kumari Jha lodged complaints against each other at the District Police Office in Dhanusha in the Tapeshwor Mandal death row.

Tapeshwor, a permanent resident of Hansapur-2, had sustained critical injuries in a clash at Baghachauda Bazaar on August 6. He succumbed to injuries during treatment at Janakpur Zonal Hospital on September 4.

The violent clash ensued between the supporters of Mayor Mandal and Deputy Mayor Jha over the issue of the administrative centre of the municipality. Jha is in favour of retaining the centre at Baghachauda Bazaar, while Mandal wanted to shift the centre to Hanspur Chowk. Both of them were elected from the Rastriya Janata Party-Nepal.

On Sunday, Manoj Kumar Singh, Shashi Kapar, and Sadaiya Alam filed a police complaint claiming that Deputy Mayor Jha, ward chairman of Hansapur-2 Udaya Sah and Kishori Yadav were involved in Tapeshwor’s murder.

Raj Kumar Mandal, the deceased’s son, on Thursday lodged a complaint at the district police claiming that Mayor Mandal, ward chief of Hansapur-3 Udaya Kumar Singh, Shyam Raut and Lalbabu Yadav had murdered him. Raj Kumar is a supporter of the deputy chief.

Bharat Sahani of Baghachauda Bazaar filed a writ petition at the Janakpur High Court last month after Mayor Mandal attempted to shift the administrative centre to Hansapur Chowk from Baghachauda Bazaar. The court gave its verdict, directing the municipal authority not to shift the centre at the time and follow the due process to shift the centre if necessary.

Asked why he ignored the court’s verdict, Mayor Mandal claimed that he did not attempt to shift the administrative centre. “I just set up a temporary office in Hansapur Chowk to perform the work efficiently,” he said.

Deputy Superintendent of Police Rameshwor Karki said an investigation is underway.