A seven-hour hostage situation in Uttar Pradesh’s Azamgarh ended on Tuesday night after a man accused of killing his wife and two priests shot one of his three children before being shot by police.
The accused, identified as Arvind Singh, had allegedly locked himself inside a room with his children after the killings at his residence in the Aharoula police station area.
According to police, the incident began after Singh returned home from the market and found a puja being conducted inside the house.
Family had organised puja over 'unusual behaviour'
Azamgarh Senior Superintendent of Police Anil Kumar said a preliminary investigation indicated that Singh’s family had arranged the prayer ceremony after noticing his "“unusual behaviour" and "drinking habit".
“They believed he was under the influence of a ghost and organised the puja to address the problem. Singh was opposed to the ritual,” he said, adding that a detailed probe is underway.
One of the priests who escaped later told police that the prayers were linked to concerns that the soul of Singh’s elder brother was not at peace.
Singh reportedly confronted the four priests and questioned them about the ritual. He allegedly demanded their Aadhaar cards before taking out a licensed pistol kept at the house and opening fire.
His wife Babita and two priests—Mahendra Pathak, 60, of Patkhauli village and Akhilesh Mishra, 55, of Chhitauna Bhatauli village—were killed. The remaining priests managed to flee.
Police rush to rescue children
After the shootings, Singh allegedly locked himself inside a room with his three children. Senior police officers, including Deputy Inspector General Sunil Kumar, SSP Anil Kumar and Superintendent of Police RA Chirag Jain, reached the spot.
Police tried to convince Singh to surrender and release the children, but he refused.
The standoff took a deadly turn when police heard a gunshot from inside the room. Singh had allegedly fired at one of his children.
“After shooting and killing three people, he held his three children hostage in a room. While the police were attempting to persuade the accused to surrender and rescue the children, they heard the sound of a gunshot. The team rushed into the room but the accused opened fire on them,” the SSP said.
Accused, son die in hospital
Police broke open the door and retaliated after Singh allegedly opened fire at them. He sustained a bullet injury during the exchange.
“The accused and his son were rushed to the hospital where they succumbed to injuries,” the SSP said.
A Security Operations Group (SOG) team was deployed at the residence, which was subsequently cordoned off as police continued their investigation.