A man, who allegedly shot his wife and two priests dead during a special puja at his house in Shambhupur village under the Ahraula police station area of Azamgarh district on Tuesday, was killed in an encounter in the early hours of Wednesday, police said. His nine-year-old son was also killed after allegedly being shot by Singh during a nearly seven-hour hostage standoff, they added.
The incident began around 6pm when Singh returned home from the market and found the religious ritual underway. The ritual had been going on for four days and had been organised by his family after concerns over his behaviour and heavy alcohol consumption. The claim about any mental health condition or supernatural influence has not been independently established. “Singh abused the priests during the argument and Babita objected to his behaviour. Singh then shot his wife before opening fire at the priests,” Himanshu was quoted as saying by police. After the killings, Singh allegedly took his three children into a room and locked himself inside with the firearm. Relatives were also brought in to persuade him to surrender. The Special Operations Group (SOG) was also deployed. He allegedly continued to threaten to kill the children. The standoff turned critical when police heard a gunshot from inside the room.
Azamgarh SSP Anil Kumar said Arvind Singh, 42, had locked himself inside a room with his three children after the firing and refused to surrender despite repeated persuasion by police. Singh allegedly objected to the ritual and argued with his wife, Babita, 32. The argument escalated, following which Singh allegedly took out his licensed pistol and opened fire, killing Babita and two priests — Mahendra Pathak, 60, of Patakhouli village and Akhilesh Mishra, 55, of Chhitauna Bhattauli village. Singh’s mother Samla Devi, 70, his three children and two other priests were also present at the house, police said. Police personnel from around 10 stations reached the village, while senior officers tried to persuade him to surrender. The Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) was called in around 12.20am as the standoff continued. Singh was critically injured and taken to hospital, where he died around 3.30am, the SSP said.
“He opened fire at the police team when officers entered the room to rescue the children, prompting retaliatory firing,” Kumar said. Police said Singh was allegedly heavily drunk at the time. Family members allegedly believed he was under the influence of “evil spirits”. Police said he also demanded the Aadhaar cards of the priests present at the house. Priest Himanshu, who was present during the ritual and escaped by jumping over a wall, told investigators that Singh had earlier warned the priests not to return. SSP Anil Kumar, DIG Sunil Kumar Singh and Varanasi ADG Navin Arora were among the officers who attempted to negotiate with Singh, officials said. Police said Singh at one point opened a window and asked the officers to leave, saying they should return the next morning. ADG Arora said police had to act as three children were inside. Police said Singh fired five rounds at the police team after they entered the room, prompting “controlled fire”.
Stun grenades and tear-gas grenades were used before the door was broken open, following which SSP Kumar entered the room with the SOG team.
