The main accused in the killing of a teacher, his wife and their two young children in Amethi has claimed that he had a relationship with the woman for nearly a year and a half and carried out the murders because it had gone sour, the police have said.

The man, Chandan Verma, was arrested from a toll plaza near Noida on Friday afternoon and, while the police were recovering the motorcycle and pistol used in the murders on Saturday, he snatched a policeman’s gun and fired at him. While the policeman managed to save himself, Verma was shot in the leg by another cop, a statement by the Uttar Pradesh Police said. 

Sunil Kumar, his wife Poonam and their two daughters – who were just one and six years old – had been shot dead at their home in Amethi’s Bhavani Nagar on Thursday. Soon after the gruesome murders, it had come to light that Poonam had filed a police complaint against Verma less than two months ago in which she had said that he had threatened to kill her on more than one occasion and would be responsible if anything happened to her or her family. Poonam had also accused Verma of sexually harassing her. 

In a press conference on Friday, Amethi Superintendent of Police Anoop Kumar Singh said, “Verma was arrested by the Special Task Force at the Jewar Toll Plaza around 2.40 pm while he was trying to flee to Delhi. In our initial questioning, Verma has said he was in a relationship with the woman (Poonam) for about a year and a half. He said there were some problems in the relationship recently, which kept him tense. This is why he shot her and her family.”

Mr Singh said Verma carried out the murders alone and this was borne out by the fact that all the bullets found at the scene of crime were from one pistol. “Verma fired 10 bullets. After killing everyone in the family, he tried to shoot himself, but the bullet missed. He said he couldn’t gather the courage to shoot himself again and fled.”

NDTV had reported on Friday that Verma had announced his intention to kill the family and then himself in a WhatsApp status on September 12. The status said: “5 people are going to die, I will show you soon.”

Police Shooting

In a statement, the UP Police said Verma was taken to Amethi on Saturday by some officials to recover the pistol and the motorcycle used in the crime when he snatched a policeman’s official pistol from his holster and shot at him “with the intention of killing him”. The statement said that while the policeman saved himself with “practical wisdom”, another cop fired at Verma in self-defence and hit him in the leg.

Verma has been taken to a hospital for treatment.

Woman’s Complaint

In her first information report, Poonam had said she had gone to a hospital in Rae Bareli on August 18 when Verma had sexually harassed her and then slapped her and her husband when she protested. 

“He said ‘If you report this I will kill you’. He has threatened to kill me before this as well. My family is in danger. If any incident or accident happens with me or my husband in the future, Chandan Verma will be responsible. I request you to register my complaint and take appropriate action,” she had said.

Chandan Verma, the prime suspect in the murders of a Dalit school teacher and his family in Amethi, was injured during a police encounter as he was being escorted to recover the murder weapon. The victims, Sunil Kumar, his wife, and their two young daughters, were found shot dead in their home with no signs of forced entry.