A man who allegedly shot his wife and two priests before taking three children hostage in Uttar Pradesh’s Azamgarh on Tuesday was killed in a police encounter. During the standoff, the man also shot one of his children, a son. Both the man and his son were taken to a hospital, where they later died from their injuries, police said.
The incident began on Tuesday evening when the man, identified as Arvind Singh, returned home around 6 pm and found his wife, Babita Singh (32), performing a religious ritual with two priests, Mahendra Pathak (60) and Akhilesh Mishra (50).
A verbal altercation followed, after which Arvind allegedly pulled out his licensed gun and first shot his wife before opening fire on the two priests. He then took his three children hostage and locked himself inside a room with them.
According to Naveen Arora, Additional Director General of Police (ADG), Varanasi Zone, the police initially exercised restraint as Arvind refused to leave the house and insisted that they wait until morning. The situation escalated when Arvind opened fire from inside the house, prompting the police team to enter the premises.
Police rescued all three children and immediately took them to a hospital for medical treatment.
“Arvind and his son died of their injuries during treatment,” Dr Anil Kumar, Senior Superintendent of Police, Azamgarh, said.
Police are collecting evidence from the scene, while other necessary legal proceedings are also underway.
Arvind Was “mentally disturbed”
As per the police, Arvind’s mother and wife had previously raised complaints about his behaviour.
“After speaking with villagers, the accused’s family members, and an individual who survived the shooting unharmed, the investigation so far has revealed that Arvind was mentally disturbed and exhibited aggressive behaviour,” SSP Kumar said.
He further said, “His mother and wife had frequently complained about him assaulting family members and engaging in such conduct. Distressed by this situation, his mother and wife had organised a religious ritual. They suspected he was under the influence of an evil spirit and arranged the ceremony in the hope of dispelling it.”
Arvind strongly objected to the religious ceremony and grew furious about it. When his wife remarked that he was insulting the priest performing the ritual, he became enraged and shot her along with two of the priests.
Local resident said, five priests had come to the house for the ceremony. Three managed to escape, while the other two were killed during the dispute.
Bureau Report
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