Kamal Ghorui
ETAH: Police on Tuesday detained Kamal Singh, the prime suspect in the brutal killing of four members of his family in Etah, with investigators pointing to severe financial distress ahead of his daughter’s wedding as a possible trigger.The accused was picked up a day after his parents, wife and daughter were found murdered inside their two-storey home in the Kotwali Nagar area.Preliminary findings suggest the family was under acute financial pressure in the run-up to the wedding of Singh’s daughter, scheduled for next month. Police said the killings appear to have been carried out using a brick recovered from the crime scene.According to police, Ganga Singh (75), his wife Shyama Devi (70), daughter-in-law Ratna Devi (42) and granddaughter Jyoti (23) were attacked with a brick and a sharp-edged weapon. Jyoti was due to be married in February.As per earlier findings, Kamal Singh, who runs a medical store, had returned home around 1pm for lunch before leaving again for his shop shortly afterwards, police said.The crime came to light when Ganga Singh’s grandson returned from school around 2 pm and discovered the blood-soaked bodies. Hearing his cries, neighbours gathered at the spot and alerted the police. Officers who arrived found Shyama Devi still alive and rushed her to hospital, where she later succumbed to her injuries.Police said Ratna Devi’s body was found on a bed on the second floor of the house, while Jyoti and Shyama Devi were found lying on the floor. Ganga Singh’s body was discovered on the ground floor.During the investigation, Kamal Singh allegedly attempted to mislead police by claiming that everything appeared normal when he came home for lunch and that he later received a call from a relative informing him about the murders, officials said.(With inputs from Vikas Dubey)
