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5 of family found dead in UP's Prayagraj, murder-suicide suspected
Police said the bodies of the 38-year-old woman and her three daughters (aged 14, 10 and eight) were found with their throats slit open in the bedroom, while the 42-year-old man was found hanging from a noose in the courtyard of the house
Five members of a family were found dead inside their residence in a suspected case of murder- suicide, in Khagalpur village of Uttar Pradesh’s Prayagraj district, police said on Saturday.
Police said the bodies of the 38-year-old woman and her three daughters (aged 14, 10 and eight) were found with their throats slit open in the bedroom, while the 42-year-old man was found hanging from a noose in the courtyard of the house.
The bodies were first spotted by a neighbour, who informed the police around 7 am on Saturday, said an official familiar with the matter.
According to the senior superintendent of police (Prayagraj), Ajay Kumar, a two-page handwritten note was recovered from the house, which blamed a property dispute between the man and his in-laws for the incident. The note also mentions the names of some of the family members of the woman, he added.
“All bodies have been sent for a post-mortem examination. On the basis of the post-mortem reports and evidence gathered from the scene, action would be taken against the guilty and no one will be spared,” Kumar said, adding that seven teams have been formed to probe the case.
Based on a complaint filed by the deceased man’s elder brother, police have registered an FIR against four members of the woman’s family.
Local residents said the man was a trader dealing in cattle, and the family were living as tenants in Khagalpur, Nawabganj for the past few years.
District magistrate Sanjay Khatri, who also visit the spot, said a panel of doctors would conduct the family’s autopsy.
Soon after the incident, Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav attacked the BJP-led Uttar Pradesh government for “drowning” the state in crime. “Under the rule of BJP government 2.0, UP has drowned in crime. Today’s crime list,” he tweeted in Hindi.
Replying to Yadav, Additional Director General, Prayagraj zone, Prem Prakash tweeted: “A preliminary probe indicates that the house owner killed his family before committing suicide due to a family dispute.”
Deputy chief minister Keshav Prasad Maurya said the truth behind the incident will be known once the probe is completed. “The incident is being probed seriously and expeditiously. The reason behind it will be known (after the investigation). The guilty will not be spared,” he said.
Hitting out at the Opposition, Maurya said, “At a time when the police are probing the incident and trying to catch the culprits, people should wait. The guilty will not be able to escape, even if any opposition leader tries to save them.”
WITH PTI INPUTS
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