Bahraich farmer killed two teens before ending life with family by setting house on fire: Police

Bahraich (UP), Oct 3 (PTI) A day after a family of four and two teenagers were found dead in a house fire here, police sources on Friday said an FIR has been registered in the case, naming the deceased homeowner as accused in the murder of the two teenagers.

They said Vijay Kumar Maurya, a farmer, murdered the two teenage boys by slitting their throats at his house in Teperaha village on Wednesday, after which he and family locked themselves inside another room and set it on fire.

The six bodies were cremated at two separate locations by their respective families on Thursday.

The FIR, a copy of which is with the PTI, was based on a complaint filed by Hiralal, the uncle of one of the slain teenagers.

In his complaint filed at Ramgaon police station, Hiralal alleged that at around 8.30 am on Wednesday, Vijay called his nephew Sunny Verma (14) and Suraj Yadav (15) to his house to harvest garlic.

"Inside the house, Vijay murdered Sunny and Suraj by slitting their throats. After that, Vijay, his wife Dheeraj Kumari, and their two daughters Priyanshi (10) and Riyanshi (8) locked themselves inside another room along with four cattle and committed suicide by setting the house on fire," the complaint said.

The villagers, who knocked down the door after seeing smoke from the house, found the mutilated bodies of Sunny and Suraj in one room and the charred bodies of Vijay, his wife, daughters and cattle in another, the complaint said.

The FIR also named seven other individuals for intimidation and assault, based on a separate complaint filed by Hiralal. These included Jitendra, Balram, Shri Bhagwan and Bahadur, and Bahadur's three sons Sharavan, Guddu and Manoj.

Hiralal alleged that when his family members arrived and questioned Vijay's neighbours about the incident, they responded aggressively.

"When we asked them how such a major incident could happen right next door without them knowing, they attacked us with bricks and stones. Vijay's brother Ajay hurled abuses at us," Hiralal's complaint said.

The case has been registered under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.

On Wednesday, shortly after the incident, Inspector General of Police (Devi Patan Division) Amit Pathak had stated that while the exact cause of the deaths would only be determined by the post-mortem report, preliminary evidence suggested a planned act by one person.

"Four bodies that were found charred belonged to the homeowner, his wife and two daughters. Two bodies of the boys who were called to harvest garlic, bore wounds from sharp weapons," IG Pathak had said.

Police have not disclosed the post-mortem report or confirmed the conclusions of the four investigation teams assigned in the case. PTI COR CDN RUK RUK