7 hours of terror: Man kills wife, priests and son in UP hostage drama; shot dead by police

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.

According to local police, 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.

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”.

“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.

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.

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.

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.