'5 people will die': Amethi murder accused's chilling text before killing family

The woman's complaint mentioned that "if anything happens to her or her family," Chandan Verma, against whom the family had filed a case under the SC/ST Act and for eve-teasing, should be held responsible.

In Short

• Family had filed complaint against accused under the SC/ST Act and for eve-teasing
• Accused Chandan Verma's WhatsApp chat hinted at planned killings
• Teacher's family in UP Amethi shot dead by armed men on Thursday

The murder of a school teacher's family in Uttar Pradesh’s Amethi on Thursday appears to have been pre-planned, as indicated by the accused's WhatsApp status recovered by the police, officials said. The accused, Chandan Verma, had posted a WhatsApp message stating that "five people will die, I will show you soon," indicating a plan to kill all four family members and then commit suicide, according to sources.

On Thursday, a group of armed men, including the identified accused Chandan Verma, barged into the teacher's house, opened fire on all the members, and fled the scene. The victims, 35-year-old teacher Sunil, his wife Poonam (32), their daughter Drishti (6), and their one-year-old daughter, were killed in the attack.

The door of the house was opened when Verma knocked, and he fired at them with an illegal .32-bore pistol, official sources added.

The probe also found that the teacher’s wife had lodged an FIR against Chandan Verma in Rae Bareli on August 18 under the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and for eve-teasing, according to Superintendent of Police Anoop Kumar Singh, who spoke to news agency PTI.

According to the officer, the complaint mentioned that "if anything happens to her or her family," Verma should be held responsible. The police have yet to trace Verma.

However, the officer said it is not yet clear if the deaths are related to the case.

Sunil was a government school teacher employed at Panhona Composite School in Singhpur. Before becoming a teacher in 2020, he had served in the Uttar Pradesh police. The police have formed teams to investigate the matter, with the Local Intelligence Unit and Special Operations Groups also assisting in the investigation.