Amethi (Uttar Pradesh): A government school teacher, his wife and two daughters, aged five and two, were allegedly shot dead at their rented house in Shivratan Ganj area of Uttar Pradesh's Amethi district on Thursday evening.
The incident took place over a month after the family had lodged a complaint against Chandan Verma saying he would be responsible if anything untoward happened to them. Police took Chandan into custody on Friday and presently interrogating him at an unknown destination.
Couple, Children Shot Dead In Amethi, One Taken Into Custody (ANI) Meanwhile shocking details have emerged hinting that Chandan reportedly had an affair with the teacher's wife, Poonam and planned to die by suicide after killing the family. Some photographs and chat messages of the two have also surfaced.
According to sources, Chandan and Poonam had an affair even before the latter's marriage. Chandan had posted on his WhatsApp status that five persons will die today. A screenshot of this status has gone viral on social media. It is being suspected that after killing the entire family Chandan intended to kill himself.
It has been learnt that on Thursday evening, Chandan had alone gone to the teacher's house on his bike and knocked on the door. When the door was opened, he shot the entire family with his unauthorised 32 bore pistol. Some notes were found with the children that were reportedly left by Chandan.
However, no official statement has been issued by the police yet.
Apart from Ayodhya Divisional Commissioner, IG, DM-SP of Amethi have reached the spot. Five teams of Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force (STF) have been engaged to probe the incident.
The post-mortem, conducted by a panel of doctors this morning, revealed that seven rounds of bullets were fired. The teacher had three bullet injuries, his wife had two gunshot wounds and their daughters had one bullet injury each.
Amethi SP said preliminary investigation has revealed that the incident was not committed with the intention of robbery. A probe is underway from all angles, he said.
The teacher's father, Ram Gopal, who works as a labourer, has demanded that accused should also be shot dead. The four bodies were brought to their ancestral village in Rae Bareli for the last rites.
The deceased, identified as Sunil Kumar, his wife Poonam and daughters Drishti (5) and Laado (2), lived in a rented house near Ahorwa Bhavani in Shivratan Ganj police station area of the district.
CMO Dr Anshuman Singh said that post-mortem of four bodies has been completed and the deaths were due to bullet wounds.
Family had filed complaint against a man over a month ago:
Ram Gopal said that Sunil had lodged a complaint against Chandan Verma, a resident of Tiliya Kot, some days ago alleging that he misbehaved with the family but no action was taken by the police. He said that the entire family was dependent on Sunil.
In August, Sunil's wife Poonam Bharti had filed an indecency case against Chandan under the SC/ST Act in the city police station. Rae Bareli Police said Chandan was taken into custody after the case was registered and chargesheet was also filed.
UP CM Expresses Grief:
"It has been revealed in our preliminary forensic investigation of the crime scene that there is no sign of forced entry. Prima facie it appears that the assailants may have been known to the victim's family," Kumar said. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath expressed grief over the incident.
In a post in Hindi on X, he said, "The incident that happened in Amethi district today is highly condemnable and unforgivable. My condolences are with the bereaved families. In this hour of grief, the UP government stands with the victim's family. The culprits of this incident will not be spared at any cost, strict legal action will be taken against them."
Amethi MP reaches Rae Bareli:
Amethi MP Kishori Lal Sharma reached Sudamapur, the native village of the deceased in Gadganj. He said, "It is a horrific crime. I am in touch with this family since yesterday. The father of the deceased has mentioned about a case filed by the family. I have already spoken to DM Amethi about it. Rae Bareli MP Rahul Gandhi has also been informed."
Taking to her social media handle, BSP supremo and former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati wrote, "The incident of the brutal murder of four members of a Dalit family in Amethi district of UP is extremely sad and worrying. The government should take strict action against the culprits and the policemen there so that the criminals do not remain fearless".
Former Amethi MP and Union Minister Smriti Irani tweeted, "The criminal incident that took place in Amethi is extremely heart-wrenching and condemnable. The Government stands with the victim's family with all seriousness and is determined to take strictest action against the culprits."
Read more
- Tamil Nadu: Murder Accused Shot And Caught In Dindigul
- RJD Leader On Morning Walk Shot At In Bihar
