A shocking incident of murder-suicide occurred in Bahraich district of Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday after a farmer killed two teenage boys before setting his house on fire, resulting in the deaths of six people, including his own family. The incident took place in the Nindurpurwa hamlet of Teparha village.
Police were quoted by The Indian Express as saying that they suspect that the farmer, identified as Vijay Maurya, could be suffering from mental health issues, but added that things would become clear “after a thorough investigation”.
“We are collecting details about the case and its possible motive,” Inspector General (Devipatan Range) Amit Pathak informed.
According to police, they were alerted about a pucca house engulfed in flames, with women and children crying for help from inside. On reaching the scene, officers saw villagers attempting to extinguish the fire. Fire tenders soon arrived and brought the blaze under control. Inside the house, the bodies of two boys were discovered in the courtyard.
“In the preliminary inquiry, it was found that Vijay Maurya had hired three boys, all under 15 years, to work in his field on Wednesday morning. An hour later, he sent one of them to bring some wood. In the meantime, the two boys reportedly refused to work, saying they had household chores to complete as it was the last day of Navratri. Angered by this, Vijay killed both with a sharp weapon in the courtyard of his house,” a police officer informed, adding they are recording the statement of the third boy.
“After killing the two boys, Vijay took his wife, two daughters – aged 6 and 8 – to a room. He also brought in his cattle inside before locking the room and setting it on fire,” the police officer was quoted as saying adding that diesel may have been used to fuel the blaze.
A tractor owned by the family, parked near the house, also got destroyed in the fire, they added.
“The post-mortem is being conducted on the six bodies. The report will tell us the cause of their death,” said a police officer.
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