In a shocking incident, a 45-year-old man allegedly hacked to death 10 members of his family, all women and girls, before hanging himself in a village in Uttar Pradesh’s Amethi district. The youngest victim was two years old.
The incident took place in Mahona Paschim (West) village in the Bazar Shukul police station area.
Jalaluddin, who ran a mechanic shop, lived in the house with his wife, their five daughters, and wives and children of his two brothers. On the intervening night of Tuesday-Wednesday, Jalaluddin, under the pretext of giving them medicine, fed pesticide to all his family members, before slitting their throats with a sharp object. He then committed suicide by hanging himself, a police spokesperson said.
Two survive
Only two persons survived, Jalaluddin’s wife Tabassum and one of his daughters Afsaar, who were both admitted to the community health centre in Jagdishpur.
Among the dead were four daughters of Jalaluddin, aged 2-18, Husan Bano, wife of his deceased brother Shamsuddin, their two daughters (aged 9 and 17), and wife and two daughters (aged 6 and 7) of his second brother Rais.
Locals discovered the deaths on Wednesday after they got suspicious when the house door did not open till late in the morning. Neighbours broke in with an axe and found the two survivors in an unconscious state. While the matter is being probed, “prima facie it appears to be a case of family feud,” a police spokesperson said in Lucknow.
Station Officer of Bazar Shukul, Mohammad Hamid, said the family had no dispute with anybody. “They were from another village and lived here on rent. The neighbours have no clue. We are probing all angles. The bodies have been sent for post mortem,” Mr. Hamid told The Hindu .
