Prayagraj’s trans-Ganga area has seen many such cases in past

PRAYAGRAJ: The recent Nawabganj incident in which the bodies of five members of the same family were found in their house, is just another in a series of incidents of multiple deaths in the trans-Ganga area of Prayagraj district. The region has witnessed many such incidents, many of which are still to be cracked.

In many of the cases, kin of the murdered persons lodged named FIRs against those with whom they were locked in a property related or other disputes. Police claimed cracking some cases and arrested members of vagabond criminal gangs but failed to stop the incidents of multiple murders.

In most cases, sharp-edged weapons were used and the modus operandi remained the same. A senior police official who was earlier posted in Soraon circle said that in some cases property disputes and love affairs were the reasons. However, investigations in other such incidents point towards a gang which is active in the region.

In March 2017, a couple from Rajasthan and their daughter were murdered and their bodies burnt near Padila Mahadev Temple in Tharwai area. Police arrested some suspects but the case could not be cracked.

On April 2017, Makhan Gupta, his wife Meera and daughters Vandana and Nisha were brutally murdered in their house in Shahabpur village of Nawabganj. Police arrested some persons in this connection but later involvement of some other youths was found in the murders. The accused were arrested and sent to jail.

On March 19, 2018, a woman Sushila and her two sons Anil and Sunil were murdered in their house, in Pasiapur, in the Nawabganj area. Police arrested their relative in connection with the murders and sent him to jail.

On December 7, 2018, a woman, Kamlesh Devi, her daughter, son-in-law Pratap Narayan and minor grandson

Virat were killed in their house at Bigahia village in Soraon area.

On January 5, 2020, one Vijay Shankar Tiwari, his wife Soni and three children Sonu, Kanha and Kunj were killed brutally in Yusufpur village of Soraon. Police arrested some members of a vagabond criminal gang of Bihar and claimed to have cracked the case.

In July 2020 bodies of Vimlesh Pandey, his son Prince, daughter Shreya and Sheebu were found in their house at Barai harakh village in Holagarh area. Vimlesh’s wife, Usha, was found seriously injured and remained in coma for several months. Police later arrested members of the ‘chhemar gang’ (six murder gang) and claimed that murders were committed with the motive of loot.

On November 25, 2021, four members of a dalit family including a young woman were hacked to death at a village in Phaphamau area. The postmortem examination report later revealed that the woman was gangraped before being killed. Their kin lodged an FIR against 11 persons of the same village. However, police later arrested some other youths and claimed that they killed the family members over a love affair with the woman. However, the accused were later released and the case remains to be cracked till date.

Police officials said that in the recent incident at Khagalpur village of Nawabganj, four persons have been arrested on the basis of an FIR. However, investigations are underway. Investigations are also on in the Phaphamau rape and murder incident, they added.

THE POST-MORTEM EXAMINATION REPORT LATER REVEALED THAT THE WOMAN WAS GANGRAPED BEFORE BEING KILLED.