Man held 3 yrs after ‘killing family’

GREATER NOIDA: Police on Wednesday said they arrested a 35-year-old man on the run for three years after he allegedly killed his wife and two children and buried them in their home in Greater Noida west.

Police identified the suspect by a single name as Rakesh, a resident of Chipyana Buzurg village. Police said he was arrested in connection with a murder in Kasganj and during questioning he allegedly revealed his identity and connection with the murders in Greater Noida West.

Bisrakh police station house officer Anita Chauhan said Rakesh was married to Ratnesh, a resident of Etah, for nearly six years. “They had a three-yearold son and a two-year-old daughter. The man was supposedly not happy and allegedly killed the three and buried the bodies in their home on February 14, 2018,” she said.

The suspect had fled the house after the crime.

Ratnesh’s family had then filed a police complaint against Rakesh alleging that he had abducted his wife and children. On the other hand, Rakesh’s father Banwari Lal, a former clerk in the UP police, filed a counter complaint alleging Rakesh’s in-laws had kidnapped all four.

With the police searching for him, Rakesh allegedly wanted to throw them off his trail and attempted to fake his death. He allegedly killed a person in Kasganj on April 21, 2021.

“The suspect decapitated the body and left his own identity card at the spot. The local police investigated the matter and the body was identified to be that of a local resident,” Chauhan said.

The Kasganj police put Banwari Lal’s contact number on surveillance. “Based on that, Rakesh was arrested by Kasganj police. When he was being questioned he revealed that he had murdered his wife and two children in 2018 and that he was trying to evade the police,” the SHO said.

Kasganj police brought Rakesh to Greater Noida and exhumed the skeletons buried under his home. The SHO said that Greater Noida police will conduct DNA test of the remains to confirm the identities of the victims

The suspect placed his ID card on the body of a man he killed in an attempt to fake his death and evade police. ANITA CHAUHAN, Bisrakh police station house officer