Amethi murder case: Accused shifted to district jail in Raebareli

Chandan Verma, accused of killing a Dalit family in Amethi, has been shifted to the district jail here, officials said on Sunday. Government school teacher Sunil Kumar (35), his 32-year-old wife Poonam and their two daughters, Drishti (6) and Suni (1), were shot dead in the Ahorwa Bhawani area of Amethi on October 3.

National Commission for Scheduled Castes member Love Kush Kumar took information about the incident from District Magistrate Harshita Mathur and Superintendent of Police Yashveer Singh. After the meeting, Kumar gave a clean chit to the police stating that there was no negligence on their part.

"The police took immediate action and arrested the accused. There was no negligence at any level," he added.

Kumar later visited Sudamapur village and met the victim's family members. He said he talked to the victim's family and the police has taken appropriate action in the case.

"The culprit has been sent to jail. The Chief Minister has also announced to provide the benefits of Awas Yojana, Antyodaya to the victim's family. The police administration has been told to provide security to them," he said.

Verma (35), who was arrested on Friday, was shot by the police on Saturday while they were trying to recover the pistol he allegedly used in the killing. He was admitted to the hospital from where he was shifted to the district jail on Saturday.

During the initial investigation, the police found that Poonam had lodged an FIR against the accused in Raebareli on August 18 for eve-teasing and under the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.

The complainant had also mentioned that "if anything happens to her or her family", Verma should be held responsible for it.

Verma, a resident of Raebareli, told the police that he reached the victims' house on Thursday, got enraged over a discussion there and shot the family members. He confessed to killing all four of them. Verma said that he had an affair with Poonam for the last 18 months, adding that the relationship later turned sour due to which he got stressed and this led to the killings.

The accused also said that he had tried to kill himself but the pistol misfired, according to the police.

Superintendent of Police Anoop Kumar Singh said Verma had fired 10 shots from a pistol.

Referring to a social media post by Verma, the SP said, "He intended to shoot himself after killing the four family members. He was the fifth person but his suicide attempt failed."

The bodies of the Dalit school teacher and his wife, who were shot dead along with their two daughters, were consigned to flames on Saturday at the Gola Ganga Ghat here, while the children were buried.

Poonam's brother Bhanu has refuted Verma's claims of illicit relationship with his sister. "He (Chandan) used to force my sister to speak with him. He also took pictures with her forcefully that are now being circulated," he added.