LUCKNOW: The gruesome murder of a Dalit schoolteacher, his wife and two daughters in Amethi on Thursday was carried out by a youth who was in love with Poonam Bharti, the wife of the teacher, police claimed on Friday.
Identifying one Chandan Verma as the prime suspect, police said he was in love with Poonam, and the two were constantly in touch with each other through video chats.
Teacher in a government school, Sunil Kumar, 34, came to know about his wife’s affair on Aug 18, after he made Poonam lodge an FIR against Chandan under SC/ST Act in Rae Bareli, accusing him of threatening her family.
She also stated in her complaint that if any of her family members were harmed, Chandan should be held responsible for it.
On Thursday, Chandan barged into the house of the victim and not only eliminated Sunil and Poonam but also their daughters, Shrishti, 5, and Samiksha, 1.5 years.
He shot the teacher three times, the wife twice, and each of their daughters once.
Prior to the murder, Chandan had changed his WhatsApp status which stated “Today five people will die.”
Additional SP, Amethi, Harendra Kumar, said that they have registered an FIR under the charges of murder against Chandan on the complaint of Sunil’s father, Ram Gopal.
Kumar said that investigations have revealed that he was involved in an affair with Poonam even before she got married to Sunil.
Following the FIR by Poonam, police questioned Chandan, and both stopped communicating. However, after a few days Chandan began harassing the family, police say.
On Thursday, Chandan arrived at the teacher’s home on a motorcycle. He gave some money to the children and got into an argument with the couple.
During the heated exchange, Chandan shot the husband, wife, and their daughters before fleeing, abandoning the bike at the scene.
Ram Manohar Yadav, who runs a medical store nearby, was the first to reach the scene. He recalled, “It was around 6.50 pm on Thursday when I heard the gunshots. I rushed towards Sunil’s house, and another shot rang out. I got scared and immediately informed the police, who were stationed 100 metres away.”
When the police arrived, they spotted the all four drenched in blood.
Sunil and his wife were lying dead near a water tap in the courtyard, and the bodies of their daughters were found just 10 feet away.
Sunil hailed from Sudaamapur village in Rae Bareli where his father, Ram Gopal, still resides.
Before becoming a teacher, Sunil had served in UP Police. He had been teaching at Panhauna Primary School in Amethi since March 12, 2021.
He and his family had been living in this house in Aherewa Bhawani Chauraha for the past three months.
The bodies of the teacher and his family have been taken to their ancestral village in Rae Bareli, where the entire village has been left shell-shocked. IG Faizabad Range, Praveen Kumar, said that the firearm injuries seem to be from the same weapon only and possibly a .32 bore country-made pistol.
“Surveillance teams and district police are tracing all possible whereabouts of the accused Chandan,” he said.
Father seeks justice
Ram Gopal told reporters outside the mortuary on Friday, “The way my son has gone, he(killer) should go the same way.” He also expressed his concerns over being the sole breadwinner of the household, “With my son gone, I am left with no one to take care of the house. I am over 60 years old, and I have one more son, who lives separately. If he can get a job, it would be good.”
He also claimed that he did not know who Chandan Verma was or what his caste was; however, he did remember Poonam lodging a complaint against him. “Had any action been taken, this would not have happened today,” Ram Gopal said.