Uttar Pradesh: Month after lodging FIR under SC/ST Act, family of four shot dead in Amethi

Amethi (UP): A government school teacher, his wife and two daughters were allegedly shot dead at their rented accommodation on Thursday, over a month after the family lodged an FIR against a man saying he would be responsible if something untoward happened to them, police said.

Superintendent of Police of Amethi Anoop Kumar Singh said it is not yet clear if the deaths are related to the case. According to police, the deceased were identified as Sunil (35), his wife Poonam (32), Drishti (6) and his one-year-old daughter. Sunil was a native of Rae Bareli and was posted in a government school in Amethi's Panhauna.

During the initial investigation, police found that Poonam had lodged an FIR against Chandan Verma in Rae Bareli on August 18 under the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, and for eve-teasing, the SP said.

The complainant also mentioned that "if anything happens to her or her family", Verma should be held responsible for it, he said. It is to yet be determined if the murders are related to the case, Singh said. Officials of the police and education departments arrived at the spot where District Magistrate Nisha Anant and SP Anoop Singh were already present. Senior officials from Lucknow too were being rushed to Amethi.

The spot of the incident is around 60 kilometres from the district headquarters. According to the neighbours, upon hearing loud gunshots, they reached the house to find the family dead on the back side.

The police have formed teams to probe the matter. Teams of Local Intelligence Unit and Special Operation Groups have also been pressed in to assist in the investigation, officials said. "We are scanning the CCTV footage of cameras in the area as part of an effort to identify the assailants," an officer said.

Inspector General of Police Praveen Kumar, who reached the crime spot, told reporters that the assailants appear to be known to the deceased. "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 family," Kumar said.

Father mourns dead of bread winner

"The way my son has gone, they (killers) should go the same way," Ram Gopal, whose son was the sole breadwinner of the family, said on Friday.

"With my son gone, I am left with no one to take care of the house," he said. "I am over 60 years old and I have one more son, who lives separately. If he can get a job, it would be good," he urged the government.

Ram Gopal said he does not know who Chandan Verma is or if he is the one who did the killings. "I am a Harijan and I don't know what caste he is," he told reporters outside the mortuary here.

He, however, recalled his daughter-in-law once telling him that she had lodged a police complaint against him. "Had any action been taken, this would not have happened today," Ram Gopal said.

Meanwhile, a three-member team of doctors conducted the post mortem of the bodies in Amethi under videography. Ram Gopal later took all four bodies to his native village, Sudamapur, in Rae Bareli's Unchahar. Amethi police chief Anoop Kumar Singh said five police teams have been deployed to work on the case.

BJP- SP spat over murders

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, 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."

Meanwhile, former chief minister Akhilesh Yadav, while reacting to the incident, questioned the law and order situation in the state in a cryptic post on X. "Koi Hai? Kahin hai? (Is anyone there? Is someone anywhere?)," Yadav posted while sharing a news clip of the incident.

Congress MP from Amethi Kishori Lal Sharma also attacked the government over the murders. "In Shivratanganj area of Amethi, miscreants barged into a house and brutally shot dead Sunil Kumar, assistant teacher in a composite school, his wife and two children. The savage criminals killed the entire family," Sharma wrote in Hindi on X.

"Hearing about this heart-rending incident sent shivers down the spine. The entire Amethi family is as upset as they are angry," he said. "This mass murder is the result of the government's ruined law and order situation. The criminals are fearless. The police administration should immediately arrest the criminals and give them the harshest punishment," he added.

(Inputs from PTI)