A 16-year-old boy hacked to death his elder brother, sister-in-law and their three-year-old son while they were sleeping at their home in Balwa village of Gorakhpur district in the early hours of Monday, police said.
The incident took place around 3 am in the village, which falls within the limits of Bansgaon police station, about 50 km from the district headquarters. The deceased were identified as Amit Gupta, his wife Ranjana and their son Reyansh.
According to police, the three victims were sleeping in the same room when the teenager attacked them with a sharp weapon. The accused’s parents were sleeping in another room at the time.
Police said the boy’s father heard screaming and ran into the room, where he found the three family members lying in a pool of blood. He allegedly saw his younger son leaving the room carrying the weapon, and alerted neighbors before informing the police.
Senior police officials reached the spot and opened an investigation. The teenager was arrested from an upstairs room where police allegedly found him with the blood-stained weapon.
A case was filed based on the complaint of the victims’ father, and the bodies were sent for autopsy.
SP (South) Dinesh Puri said the three victims were killed inside the room, and the juvenile is being interrogated.
The motive behind the murder has not yet been confirmed, police said, adding that preliminary investigations indicate that a possible dispute related to a family-run store may have been the reason behind the incident. Further investigation is underway.
