Father-son duo kills five of family in hotel room

A woman and her four daughters were found murdered in a hotel room in the busy Naka area of the city on Wednesday morning, police said.

One of the prime suspects was the woman’s 24-year-old son, Mohd Arshad, who has reportedly confessed to murdering his mother and sisters with the help of his father and alleged land-related harassment by his neighbours in Agra.

Arshad was arrested after he surrendered himself to the police shortly after the incident, a senior police officer said, adding a search for the father, Mohd Badar, was underway.

The family hailed from Agra and was visiting the state capital to celebrate New Year.

Deputy commissioner of police (DCP-Central) Raveena Tyagi said, “The accused, Arshad (24), allegedly killed five members of his own family with the help of his father.”

The deceased have been identified as Aliya (9), Alishia (19), Aksa (16) and Rahmeen (18) -- all sisters of Arshad. The fifth victim is Asma, 45, their mother, according to the police.

Also, Arshad shot a video showing the bodies of the women and even purportedly shared it on social media. In it, he confessed to murdering his sisters and mother. He claimed that he took the step due to harassment from his neighbours. During his questioning, he reportedly told the same to the police.

Tyagi, who was at the crime scene, said son Arshad informed the hotel staff of the murders. Police were then informed.

The DCP said the family, which was from Kuberpur of Agra, reached Lucknow on December 30 and booked a room for two days at Hotel Sharanjeet in Naka.

The DCP said the crime might have been committed after 1 am as the hotel staff claimed to have seen the women outside their room shortly before.

However, the accused Arshad has released a video saying he took these extreme steps after he was harassed by his neighbours in Agra.

“In the initial interrogation, Arshad confessed to killing his four sisters and mother. He said that people in his neighbourhood were harassing his family. He was afraid that if something happened to him, what would happen to his mother and sister. So, he decided to kill them,” Tyagi said.

‘Women sedated before their murders’

As no signs of resistance were noticed on the bodies, police suspected that the women might have been given sedatives before their murders.

Arshad, suspectedly, strangled at least one of them with a scarf with the help of his father. Others had their wrists cut with a sharp object.

“After committing the crime, he dropped off his father at a city railway station, but himself went to a police station and reported the incident. The murder weapons, a blade and a scarf, have been recovered. The accused is being questioned in detail,” said the DCP.

The video that Arshad shot was also found on his phone. Another gruesome video purportedly shows his father strangulating one of the daughters.