Five members of a family were killed with sharp-edged weapons in Khevrajpur village in the district, police said on Saturday. Rajkumar (55), his wife Kusum (50), daughter Manisha (25), daughter-in-law Savita (30) and grand-daughter Mitakshi (2) were found dead in their house under Tharwai police station limits early on Saturday, according to Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Ajay Kumar.
The killings triggered strong reactions from rival political parties. While the Samajwadi Party (SP) attacked the Yogi Adityanath dispensation alleging that Uttar Pradesh was “immersed in crime”, Bajuhan Samaj Party chief Mayawati demanded a thorough investigation. In a Hindi tweet by the office of the chief minister, Adityanath expressed grief. He instructed the officials to provide adequate treatment to the injured family members, and directed the district magistrate and senior police officials to carry out an impartial investigation.
The five people were killed on Friday night when Rajkumar’s son Sunil had been away to attend a wedding. His five-year-old daughter Sakshi, who was in the house at the time of the killings, survived. SSP Kumar said the post-mortem report had confirmed that injuries on the victims’ heads caused their death.
“No evidence of rape has been found in the report. However, the vaginal slide and swab of the deceased women have been collected and sent to the Forensic Science Laboratory to ascertain the truth,” the Prayagraj Police said in a statement. The police, however, did not mention any specific reason that led to the killings.
There was also fire in the bedroom, which was extinguished by the fire brigade, the SSP said, adding that the victims’ relatives had arrived and talks were being held with them. A case had been lodged at Tharwai police station and seven teams had been formed to investigate the case, Kumar said. “Special Task Force will also help in the probe,” Additional Director General of Police, Prayagraj zone, Prem Prakash told PTI.
Taking cognizance of media reports about the killings, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav tweeted with a news report with the caption, “Under the BJP 2.0, UP is immersed in crime. Today’s testimonial.” Mayawati said, “The news of the brutal murder of five members of a family in Prayagraj is very sad, condemnable and worrying. The government should delve to the bottom of the incident and ensure strict legal action against the culprits.” Chief of Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party-Lohia Shivpal Yadav visited the SRN Hospital here, met the kin of the deceased, and expressed his condolences. He demanded security and financial assistance to the survivors and also asked the government to fund Sakshi’s education.
“I will meet the chief minister and hand a memorandum demanding that such incidents be curbed. The law and order situation in the state should improve. Those guilty should be arrested at the earliest and given stringent punishment,” he said. Earlier, on April 15, in Khagalpur village under Nawabganj police station area, four members of a family were murdered with sharp weapons and the head of the family was found hanging.
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