Bullet-riddled bodies of a 45-year-old woman and her three children, aged 25, 17 and 15, were found at their home in Uttar Pradesh’s Varanasi this morning. The husband was missing and police suspected he could have played a role in the killings. Hours later, the husband’s body was recovered from a construction site. It has a bullet wound and police suspect he died by suicide.  

A Morning Shocker

The Bhadaini locality of Varanasi woke up to an incident that will haunt the residents for life. Rajendra Gupta’s home has 20-odd families staying as tenants. This morning, neighbours found the door closed till late. The maid entered the house to find the bodies of Nitu (45), Navanendra (25), Gaurangi (16) and Shubhendra Gupta (15) were found. Rajendra was missing. Hours later, he was found dead too. Police suspect that Gupta murdered his family and then shot himself. 

What Police Said

Before Gupta’s body was found, senior police officer Gaurav Banswal told the media that police found the bodies this morning. “An elderly woman here said a family dispute led to the murders,” he said. The senior cop said Rajendra Gupta was named an accused in multiple murder cases in the past and was currently out on bail. “The condition of the bodies suggests that they were sleeping when they were shot dead. Prima facie, it appears a pistol was used. We have found bullet casings. Police said they would also investigate if a property dispute led to the crime, considering that the family owns many properties. Rajendra Gupta ran a countrymade liquor business, owned 8-10 houses and earned lakhs every month as rent.

A Bloody History

Rajendra Gupta, police said, has faced multiple cases of murder in the past and was out on bail. Among the cases against him was one that accused him of murdering his father, brother and sister-in-law. Nitu was Gupta’s second wife and police have been told that they would quarrel frequently. Gupta, it is learnt, stayed elsewhere for over a year and had come home for Diwali. Some reports also claim that he was in touch with a tantrik, who led him to murder his family, but police have not confirmed this and said they are probing every angle.

Inputs by Piyush Acharya