Murder accused out on bail kills wife, 3 children, later found dead in Varanasi

The accused shot dead his wife and three children at their home in Varanasi and then fled from the scene. Later, the police recovered his body with a gunshot injury.

In Short

• Accused shot dead wife, 3 children when they were sleeping at home
• Police probing incident from angles of property dispute, black magic
• Accused was jailed in a 1997 murder case, got bail recently

A man who was out on bail in a murder case went on a killing spree, shooting dead his wife and three children, including two teens in Uttar Pradesh's Varanasi district.

According to the police, the incident unfolded late Monday in the Bhaidani area of Varanasi where the accused, Rajendra Gupta (45), shot dead his wife Neetu Gupta (43), their sons Navnendra (25) and Subendra (15) and daughter Gaurangi (16) when they were sleeping in their home.

Rajendra Gupta left his home following the incident. Later, he was found dead in the city's Rohaniya area, with a preliminary investigation hinting that he died by suicide after killing his wife and three children.

Upon receiving an alert about the incident from the family's tenants, a Varanasi Police team rushed to the spot and sent the bodies for post-mortem.

Rajendra Gupta's mother told the police that the couple were having a dispute over an issue.

Speaking about the incident, Varanasi's Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Gaurav Banswal said, "We received inputs about the murder of four members of the same family by shooting. We are investigating the case from several angles, including family dispute, black magic and others."

"Rajendra Gupta's body has also been recovered from Varanasi's and a separate investigation is being done to find out whether he was murdered or he died by suicide," Banswal said when he was asked about the accused's death.

Rajendra, who had a murder case pending against him since 1997, was out on bail, the DCP added.

(with inputs from Rohan Jaiswal in Varanasi)