The murder of a teacher, his wife, and their two young daughters in Amethi was premeditated and had been in the works for almost a month, police revealed. The suspect, Chandan Verma, had even made his intentions known publicly through cryptic messages. He had planned not only to kill the family but also to end his own life afterward.
The victims, Sunil Kumar, his wife Poonam Bharti, and their daughters, aged one and six, were brutally shot at their residence in Bhavani Nagar, Amethi, on Thursday. The tragedy followed a police complaint filed by Bharti less than two months earlier, in which she accused Verma of threatening her life. In her complaint, Bharti detailed an incident from August 18 at a Rae Bareli hospital, where Verma had allegedly misbehaved with her and slapped both her and her husband when confronted. “He said, ‘If you report this, I will kill you.’ He has threatened to kill me before as well. My family is in danger. If anything happens to me or my husband, Chandan Verma will be responsible,” Bharti had stated, urging the authorities to take action.
Following the murders, Verma was taken into police custody. Investigators found a screenshot of his WhatsApp status from September 12, which ominously read, “5 people are going to die, I will show you soon.” This message, along with other evidence, indicated Verma’s plan to commit suicide after killing the family. Officials also mentioned that Verma had visited a well-known temple in Amethi just before the crime took place.
The incident has drawn significant political attention, with the opposition criticizing the Yogi Adityanath-led Uttar Pradesh government. The Chief Minister condemned the killings, expressing his condolences to the grieving family and promising swift action. “The culprits of this incident will not be spared at any cost, strictest legal action will be taken against them,” Adityanath posted on X.
Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav briefly commented on the state’s law-and-order situation with a cryptic remark, “Koi hai, kahin hai (Is anyone there, is someone there anywhere),” sharing a news report on the murders. Congress MP from Amethi, Kishori Lal Sharma, also voiced his concerns, questioning the state’s security measures. He highlighted that Rahul Gandhi had spoken to the family of one of the victims and called the incident a reflection of the deteriorating law-and-order situation in Uttar Pradesh.