Man accused of slitting cousin sisters’ throat in Hathras arrested with aide after encounter
Police say accused were hired by the victims' another cousin for killing the family; girls' parents continue to be critical.
3 min read
Bullets fired by the police team hit the accused on their legs, after which the two were arrested. (File Photo)The 32-year-old man who allegedly killed his two minor cousin sisters by slitting their throat and critically injured their parents in Uttar Pradesh’s Hathras town on Thursday was arrested a day after the incident, police said.
The accused, Vikas, 32, along with his associate Lalu Pal, 30, was nabbed after an exchange of fire, officials claimed.
The investigators said Vikas and Lalu were traced to an area near Pipri in the district using electronic surveillance. The two fired at the approaching police personnel around 1 am, prompting the officials to retaliate, it was alleged. The bullets fired by the police team hit the accused on their legs, after which the two were apprehended, they said. Then the two suspects were taken to a local hospital for treatment, said the officials.
The victims of Thursday’s attack, which took place in Ashirwad Dham Colony of the town, were identified as Shrishti, 12, and Vidhi, 6. Their father Chote Lal Gautam, 45, and mother Virangana alias Gauri, 41, are under treatment at a hospital in Aligarh. Their condition is reportedly critical. The attack was allegedly carried out in the wake of a family feud over a parcel of land.
Hathras Superintendent of Police (SP) Chiranjeev Nath Sinha said the accused revealed that they were contracted by Sonelal Gautam of Fatehpur, also a nephew of the injured couple, to kill the entire family for a sum of Rs 2 lakh.
Vikas, a resident of Fatehpur and a distant cousin of the girls, is a truck driver who used to frequent their house, he said.
“The neighbours rushed to help the family, forcing the assailants to flee. We have recovered the murder weapon, a knife, two country-made pistols, a few cartridges and blood-soaked clothes from the accused,” the SP said, adding that the two also admitted that Sonelal paid them Rs 20,000 in advance.
The police said Gautam, a college lecturer, has been confined to his bed for a year following a paralysis attack. “Vikas and his accomplice reached the house at around 9 pm on Wednesday. They all had dinner and slept. At around 1.30 am, Vikas and his associate slit the girls’ throats with a sharp-edged weapon and attacked their parents,” the SP said.
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