Disciple murdered bhajan singer, family over money

The police also found the body of the missing 11-year-old son of the bhajan singer in the family’s car in Panipat, about 40km from neighbouring Shamli.

A 25-year-old former disciple was arrested in Haryana for allegedly murdering a bhajan singer and his family in Uttar Pradesh, the police said o Wednesday, a day after three members of the family were found dead at their house in Shamli district.

A 25-year-old former disciple was arrested in Haryana for allegedly murdering a bhajan singer and his family in Uttar Pradesh

The police also found the body of the missing 11-year-old son of the bhajan singer in the family’s car in Panipat, about 40km from neighbouring Shamli.

Himanshu Saini, the suspect who learnt bhajan from Ajay Pathak, was arrested while he was trying to escape after setting the Ford EcoSport, which he stole after the murders, on fire, the police said.

Pathak, 42, his wife, Sneha, 36, and their daughter, Vasundhara, 14, were killed with a sharp weapon at their house on Monday night. Pathak’s son, Bhagvat, was missing since the crime came to light the next day.

Preliminary investigation suggested that Saini, who was an assistant in Pathak’s bhajan group, killed the family following a long-running dispute over ₹60,000 he had lent to his former teacher, the police said.

The suspect was handed over to the Uttar Pradesh Police, and the boy’s body was sent for post-mortem examination at a hospital in Rohtak, the police said.

The police in Panipat got information about the Shamli murders at around 11pm on Tuesday and set up a check post, an official said. “Around 1:30am, police came to know that a person has set a car on fire...on the NH-44 (National Highway 44). The police team reached the spot and arrested the accused when he was trying to flee,” he added.

Anil Kumar, a spokesperson of the Panipat police, said the suspect confessed to the killing of Pathak and his family.

At a press conference in Shamli, additional superintendent of police Rajesh Kumar Srivastava said mobile phones of the victims, the murder weapon, and bloodstained clothes were recovered from Saini’s possession.

“He had killed the boy and other victims on the same night (Monday),” Srivastava said.

The superintendent of police (Shamli), Vineet Jaiswal, said Saini often visited the family. “During interrogation, Saini said he was going through a tough phase. He claimed that he lent around ₹60,000 to Pathak in small instalments. He said whenever he asked the singer to return the money, he was humiliated,” Jaiswal said.

Jaiswal said Saini had dinner with the family on Monday night. According to neighbours, he was the last person seen entering the house. “After dinner, he asked for the money again, but he said he was again insulted,” Jaiswal said, adding that Saini killed the family in a fit of rage with a weapon kept at Pathak’s house.