A young man in Uttar Pradesh has allegedly murdered his mother and four sisters at a hotel in Lucknow over a family dispute, after serving them intoxicating food and alcohol on Tuesday, police said. The accused, Arshad, has been arrested.
The five were found dead with slash wounds on their wrists, and their woolen clothes were soaked in blood. A preliminary probe has revealed that Arshad allegedly murdered them after mixing intoxicants in their food.
The police have further stated that a few family members were strangled and smothered to death while the rest were killed with a blade.
According to police sources, liquor was also served to the family members before the incident. The police have also named Arshad’s father, Badar, as a suspect in the murder case. The father is still at large, and the police have launched a search operation for him.
The family, hailing from Agra, had been staying at the hotel since December 30. The deceased have been identified as Arshad’s mother, Asma, and his sisters, who were aged 9, 16, 18, and 19, respectively.
“The bodies have been sent for post-mortem and a preliminary investigation has revealed that a heated argument led to the murders. Once the probe is completed, we can reveal more information on the murderer’s motive,” Lucknow top cop Raveena Tyagi told reporters.
Reacting to the murders, Samajwadi Party spokesperson Fakhrul Hasan Chand said, “It is sad that a family is no more. Unemployment, stress, poverty could be a reason behind the murders. Our party stands by the victims and expresses sorrow over their death.”
The local police rushed to the spot after they were alerted following the incident and arrested the 24-year-old Arshad from the hotel. The forensic team has now secured the crime scene after collecting DNA samples.