A father has been arrested in Uttar Pradesh’s Kanpur for killing his 11-year-old twin daughters by slaughtering them. Police received details of the horrific incident that took place at Trimoorti’s apartment in Kidwai Nagar’s Naubasta area on Sunday.
“A police response vehicle received a call at around 4.30 am about the murder of the twin sisters. On reaching the apartment, the personnel found the girls dead in a pool of blood, while the accused was present inside,” Police Commissioner Raghubir Lal told PTI.
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HT had earlier reported that the accused Shashi Ranjan Mishra, 48, is a former medical actor who left his job a few years ago and has not been working recently.
Why did the father kill his twin daughters?
Police said an exact motive has not yet been determined, but a preliminary investigation indicates possible mental health issues. Investigators link the incident to depression or a psychological state, and said that the accused appears to be mentally disturbed.
Commissioner Raghubir Lal said: “Prima facie, the father appears to be mentally disturbed. Further investigations are being conducted.”
Read also | Kanpur man cuts throat of his twin daughters and calls police to report the crime
While searching the house, police found a large bottle of medicine. But officials said there was no indication of financial stress in the family.
According to police, the accused also indicated concern about his daughters’ future during interrogation, although the motive remains under investigation.
CCTV, data
A family of five lives in the apartment: Mishra, his wife Reshma, their twin daughters, and a six-year-old son. According to police, the mother and younger son were in a separate room at the time.
Reshma told police that the evening was routine, as the family had dinner before Mishra took the girls to his room. CCTV footage from inside the house showed that at around 2.30am, Mishra took one of the children to the bathroom and later returned. Then the lights were turned off.
Mishra confesses to the crime
Police said Mishra confessed to mixing sleeping pills in the children’s food, after which they were attacked while they were sleeping. Police said the girls were strangled and then had their throats cut with a machete purchased the day before.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (South), Dipendra Nath Chaudhary, said preliminary findings indicate that the girls were attacked while they were sleeping.
The weapon used in the crime was found. Forensic teams examined the scene of the accident, and a police dog unit was deployed. The bodies were sent for autopsy.
What did the wife say?
Reshma, who is from Siliguri in West Bengal, told police that Mishra was suffering mentally after his mother’s death and had earlier expressed his desire to die with the children.
She said the marriage, which began in 2014, became strained over time. Mishra allegedly became suspicious, consumed alcohol and sleeping pills, and installed CCTV cameras throughout the house, restricting access to his room where the girls were staying.
She told officials she was unaware of the crime until police arrived. “I was asleep. I didn’t know when it happened,” she said. Her statement forms the basis of the FIR registered at Naubasta police station.
She later demanded a strict punishment, saying he “did not deserve to live.”
The investigation is ongoing
Police said they are examining the sequence of events inside the home, including the timeline captured on CCTV footage. The mother has not yet been fully questioned and is said to be in a state of shock.
Multiple aspects, including psychological distress and circumstances leading up to the incident, are under investigation, officials said.
