A man accused of killing his wife and two priests at his Azamgarh residence shot dead one of his two children he had held hostage for seven hours, before police shot him on Tuesday night.
As Singh spotted four priests inside the house, he questioned them over the ritual and allegedly demanded their Aadhaar cards. He then allegedly took out a licensed pistol kept in the house and opened fire, killing Babita and two priests — Mahendra Pathak of Patkhauli village and Akhilesh Mishra of Chhitauna Bhatauli village. The other priests fled the house. Senior police officers, including Deputy Inspector General Sunil Kumar, SSP Kumar and Superintendent of Police RA Chirag Jain, immediately rushed to the spot, to rescue the children. Police warned Singh against hurting the children and ordered him to surrender but the accused refused to comply. He eventually opened fire on one of the children, prompting the police to break open the door and retaliate. “After shooting and killing three people, he held his three children hostage in a room. they heard the sound of a gunshot While the police were attempting to persuade the accused to surrender and rescue the children.
Trouble began when the accused – Arvind Singh – returned from the market to find a ‘puja’ or prayer service being held inside his house under Aharoula police station area of Azamgarh district, according to local police. Azamgarh Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Anil Kumar said preliminary investigation revealed that Singh’s family, including his wife Babita, organised the puja after observing his “unusual behaviour” and “drinking habit”. A police officer, who did not wish to be identified, said Singh appeared to be heavily drunk at the time and locked himself inside a room of the house with his two children after committing the murders. The team rushed into the room but the accused opened fire on them,” the SSP said.
