A TWO-YEAR-OLD girl and three women were among five members of a family found murdered with severe head injuries at their residence in Khebrajpur village in Prayagraj district in the early hours on Saturday. Police have detained four suspects and formed seven teams to investigate the case.
Police identified the victims as Rajkumar Yadav (55), his wife Kusum (50), their daughter Manisha (25), daughter-in-law Savita (30) and granddaughter Mitakshi (2). Five-year-old Sakshi, another granddaughter of Rajkumar, the head of the family and a cattle trader, was found alive, said a senior police officer. Kusum died on her way to hospital while the other four were found dead with severe head injuries, the officer added.
A portion of the house was burnt but the bodies were found in a separate room, police said. The reason behind the fire is not clear yet, said police, adding that a total of six family members were in the house on Friday night when the incident took place.
“The incident came to light when neighbors spotted smoke coming out of the house and tried to find out about it. When they looked inside the house, they found the bodies lying on separate cots,” said an officer.
Prayagraj SSP Ajay Kumar said on Saturday, “Post-mortem reports have come, and according to the reports, the deaths were caused due to severe head injuries inflicted by a hard and blunt object. There are no visible signs of sexual assault on external parts. The doctors have made slides for internal parts, which will be sent to labs and the reports will come soon.”
“We have picked up four people, who are part of a criminal group indulged in murder, assault and robbery. We are interrogating them. These gangs generally attack houses with the purpose of robbery,” added the SSP.
UP ADG (Law and Order) Prashant Kumar said a case has been registered under the IPC section for murder. “We have registered a case based on a complaint lodged by a family member,” said the ADG.
A statement issued by the Prayagraj police said, “Around 5.30 am, the police were informed about the incident. Immediately, police teams with field units and dog squads reached the spot. They found that a woman was still breathing and one five-year-old girl was alive and fine. There were four dead bodies at the house.”
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