‘Superstitious’ man ‘shoots’ dead wife, 3 kids; found dead

A man allegedly went on a killing spree and shot dead his wife, two sons and a daughter in their house in Bhadaini locality here in the wee hours of Tuesday, police said, adding prima facie it appeared that the couple were going through a family dispute.

Later, Rajendra Gupta, believed to be in his early 50s, was found dead at a semi-constructed house in the Akhari area on the outskirts of Varanasi. His body was discovered with a bullet wound on his temple, police said.

They suspected the role of a black magic practitioner on whose directions Gupta allegedly killed his family.

Police noted that Rajendra was out on bail since 2004 after he allegedly killed his father and a security guard in 1997.

Gupta, who operated a liquor outlet and owned rickshaws in the city, lived at his Bhadaini house under Bhelupur police station limits with his wife Neetu (in her 40s), daughter Gaurangi (16) and sons Navanendra (22) and Subendra (15).

Deputy commissioner of police (Kashi zone) Gaurav Banswal said, “An initial probe has revealed that a dispute in the family was the reason behind the incident.”

However, he did not confirm if Rajendra was in touch with a black magic practitioner, and stated that the case was under investigation.

Police officials said he could be superstitious and believed that his wife and children were hurdles in his way to progress since the black magic practitioner he followed had told him so.

The murders came to light after the family’s house-help Renu Verma went to the house during noon hours. An official said she nudged open the door to find Neetu and her three children dead in a pool of blood. Rajendra, however, was missing.

A police official said a search had been launched for the black magic practitioner who was giving instructions to Rajendra.

The official said that Rajendra wanted to marry another woman on the advice of the black magic practitioner, and his wife was against it due to which they quarreled, adding Rajendra’s criminal history was also being scanned.

The accused reportedly owned three more houses in the city.

Commissioner of police Mohit Agarwal also inspected the crime scenes.

“Bodies have been sent for post-mortem. A team has been constituted to investigate the entire matter thoroughly,” said a police officer aware of the case investigation.

While the elder son, who reportedly worked in Bengaluru, was visiting home for Diwali, the couple’s two other children were still in school.