Four of a Dalit family shot dead in U.P.’s Amethi
CM Yogi Adityanath has issued directives to take strictest action against those involved in the ghastly killings
Four members of a Dalit family, including a primary school teacher, his wife and their two children were shot dead by some unidentified assailants who barged into their house in a crowded residential locality of Uttar Pradesh’s Amethi district late on Thursday evening, confirmed senior police officials.
The shootout caused panic in the locality as senior police officials, including Lucknow zone ADG SB Shiradkar and Ayodhya range IG Praveen Kumar rushed to Amethi given the gravity of the crime. A Special Task Force (STF) of the Uttar Pradesh Police has been roped in to work out the case at the earliest.
CM Yogi Adityanath has issued directives to take strictest action against those involved in the crime. An STF team led by deputy superintendent of police Dharmesh Kumar Shahi reached the spot to help in the investigation.
The deceased have been identified as Sunil Kumar, 35, his wife Poonam Bharti, 33, and their two minor daughters Drishti, 5, and Micky (18 months).
Confirming the shootout, Amethi SP Anoop Singh said the primary investigation revealed that Sunil Kumar’s wife Poonam Bharti had filed an FIR against one Chandan Verma under appropriate Bhartiya Nyay Sanhita sections for alleged stalking and molestation in Rae Bareli on August 18.
He said the charges under sections of the SC/ST Act for atrocities against Dalits were also slapped against the accused. In the FIR, Poonam Bharti had expressed fear of being murdered by the accused. She had even mentioned that Chandan Verma will be responsible if any untoward incident happened with her and her husband.
The deceased were native of Sudamapur village under Gadaganj police station limits of Rae Bareli. “We are further crosschecking whether this dispute had anything related to the crime,” the SP added. Taking serious cognizance, CM Yogi Adityanath issued strict directives to take strictest action against those involved in the ghastly killings.
He expressed condolence over the deaths of the primary teacher and his three family members. Another police official said Kumar and his family had been living in a rented house of one Munna Dwivedi for the past three months.
An Amethi police official said the crime was committed near Bhawani Nagar intersection when a group of assailants barged into the house of teacher Sunil Kumar, who was posted at Panhona primary school of Singhpur block, and opened indiscriminate firing. Kumar, who got the teacher’s job in March 2021, had been posted at Panhona primary school since then.
The cop said the bodies of the couple were found near a water tap and circumstances suggested the duo tried to run away and save themselves after spotting the assailants inside their house while the two children’s bullet-riddled body found inside a room. He said further investigation in the case was on and multiple teams had been set up to arrest the assailants.