Amethi (UP), Oct 5 (PTI) The man accused of gunning down an entire Dalit family in Amethi allegedly over an affair with the deceased teacher's wife was shot at by the police in his leg on Saturday when he tried to snatch gun from an officer.
Sunil Kumar (35), a government school teacher, his 32-year-old wife Poonam and their two daughters, Drishti and Suni, aged six and one respectively, were shot dead in the Ahorwa Bhawani area of Amethi on Thursday.
The accused, Chandan Verma (27) was arrested near a toll plaza in Noida Friday night while fleeing to Delhi.
The police shot Verma in his leg early Saturday while they were recovering, at his instance, the pistol used in the killing.
According to police, the incident happened when Sub-Inspector Madan Kumar Singh of Shivratanganj police station was taking possession of the pistol found near a canal track.
Just when Singh was inspecting the pistol and its magazine, Verma snatched his gun from his holster and fired at him, intending to kill him, the police in a statement said.
In defence, Inspector Sachchidanand Rai fired a gunshot which hit Verma in his right leg, they said.
According to Superintendent of Police Anoop Kumar Singh, Verma's attack on the family was a fallout of an affair he was having with Poonam, one of the victims.
The SP said Verma had been seeing the teacher's wife for the past 18 months.
Verma fired 10 shots and also tried to shoot himself, but the gun failed, the officer said.
Ahead of the Thursday rampage, Verma posted an update on a messaging app that there were going to be five deaths, his being the fifth.
Earlier, the police had found that Poonam had complained against Verma in Rae Bareli on August 18 under the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, and for harassment.
"If anything happens to me or my family, Verma should be held responsible," she wrote in the complaint.
"Chandan Verma is a resident of Raebareli district. It appears that he reached the house of the victim and got enraged due to some reason after which he began shooting the family members, killing all of them," the SP said at a press conference here.
Meanwhile, Verma, while going to the court in police custody on Saturday, told reporters that he had no relation with Poonam.
The police were leaving for Raebareli court with Verma from the district hospital when the reporters asked a flurry of questions.
Asked how long he had been in a relationship with Poonam, he said, "I had no relation with Poonam."
On being asked from where he got the pistol, Chandan said, "Which pistol?"
Replying to a question why he killed the children, he said "it happened by mistake", and nodded his head when asked if he has regrets of committing the crime.
The police have seized the country-made pistol and the motorcycle, a black Enfield Bullet, used in the crime.
On Saturday, the bodies of the Dalit school teacher and his wife were consigned to flames at Gola Ganga Ghat in Raebareli, while the minor daughters were buried.
The four bodies reached the village on Friday morning and people from nearby villages who had gathered there raised slogans. The grieving family members initially refused to perform the last rites and the police were deployed in heavy numbers to maintain order.
The police administration tried to convince the family members several times to cremate the bodies on Friday, but they did not yield.
They agreed to conduct the last rites after Sonu, the brother of the teacher, reached the village late on Friday night.
Meanwhile, Amethi Chief Medical Officer Dr Anshuman Singh said Verma was referred to the district hospital from the community health centre in Tiloi.
"He had sustained bullet injuries on his right leg. He is out of danger," the CMO said.
Dr Shubham Pandey, a physician posted at the Amethi district hospital, said Verma was brought to the facility between 5.30 am and 5.45 am.
In the wake of the incident, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath paid his condolences to the victims' kin, while the opposition launched a sharp attack against the BJP government over the law and order situation in the state.