The murder of a Dalit school teacher, his wife, and their two infant children in the Congress stronghold of Amethi/Rae Bareli has triggered a political row in Uttar Pradesh.

Sunil Kumar, an assistant teacher at Composite School, Panhauna, lived with his family in Shivratanganj town in Amethi district. He was originally a resident of Sudamapur under the limits of Jagatpur police station in Rae Bareli.

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He had previously served as a constable in the police department but was later selected as a teacher. He was initially posted in Rae Bareli but transferred to Amethi in December 2020.

Around 7 pm on Thursday, bike-borne assailants arrived and opened fire on Sunil Kumar (35), his wife Poonam Bharti (30), their five-year-old daughter Srishti, and their one-and-a-half-year-old daughter Lado. All four died on the spot.

On Friday, Amethi Congress MP KL Sharma reached Rae Bareli and met the father of the deceased teacher. He facilitated a phone conversation between the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha and Congress MP from Rae Bareli, Rahul Gandhi, and the family members of the deceased.

Later, MP KL Sharma said, “Rahul Gandhi was informed about this incident on Thursday. He asked me to stay with the family, and I have been in constant touch with them. On Friday, both Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi called the family and assured them of all possible assistance.”

KL Sharma further said, “I have spoken to the father of the deceased. We have also discussed with Amethi’s DM the need to get to the bottom of this incident. Those who are involved in the incident must be punished. The police are actively searching for the criminals.”

Taking cognisance of the heinous massacre, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath directed top officials to arrest the attackers and take strict action. Former Chief Minister and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav also posted about the incident on social media, questioning the lapses of the Yogi government. Several Congress leaders also visited the site.

BSP supremo Mayawati, in her statement, said,” The brutal murder of four members of a Dalit family in Amethi district of UP is very sad and distressing. The government should take strict action against the culprits and the policemen involved so that the criminals do not go scot-free.”

In a post on X, the Chief Minister said, “The incident in Amethi is highly condemnable and unforgivable. My condolences are with the bereaved family. In this hour of grief, the government stands with the victims’ family. The culprits will not be spared at any cost, and the strictest action will be taken against them.”

The UP government has already engaged the STF to nab the culprits.

However, a significant revelation has emerged in this murder case. On Friday, it was reported that Chandan Verma of Rae Bareli, in whose name Sunil’s wife Poonam had filed a case of molestation and under the SC-ST Act, had written about killing five people in his WhatsApp status.

Chandan’s WhatsApp status dated September 12 and now going viral, reads in English, “5 people are going to die, I will show you soon”.

There were also reports that victim Poonam had a video chat with the accused Chandan. The STF was investigating the matter and searching for Chandan, while Deepak Soni, another suspect in the murder case and a resident of Ahorwa Bhawani, was picked up by the police on Thursday night. Deepak runs a mobile shop in the town.

UP Minister of State and local Tiloi MLA Mayankeshwar Sharan Singh also visited the murder site in Amethi, which falls under his assembly constituency. He said that the Yogi government is working on the policy of zero tolerance against crime and criminals. He assured that the criminals will not be spared in this case, adding, “Wherever the criminals are, they will be found and punished.”

He said that considering the incident, it appears to have been committed by individuals with deranged mentality.

He said that the police have found some important clues, and the matter is under investigation. He stressed that it would not be appropriate to comment further at this time.

Meanwhile, following the mass murder of the teacher and three members of his family on Thursday night in the Shivratan Ganj police station area of the district, the postmortem of the four deceased was conducted in Amethi early Friday morning.

A panel of two doctors carried out the postmortem, starting with the two children, followed by the teacher and his wife.

Three bullets hit the teacher, while his wife sustained two bullet wounds. One bullet each was removed from the bodies of the children. The bodies were later sent to Rae Bareli under tight security arrangements, and the cremations were conducted under tight security vigil.