Three members of a family were shot dead in an apparent robbery attempt in Uttar Pradesh's Sitapur
Highlights
- UP businessman, family killed outside their house in Sitapur
- Police suspect it to be a case of robbery; no arrests so far
- Day-long shutdown announced by the city's traders' association
A businessman, his wife and son were shot dead right outside their home and just 400 metres from a police station last night in Uttar Pradesh's Sitapur. In CCTV footage, 45-year-old Sunil Jaiswal is seen struggling as the attackers try to snatch a bag from him outside his home in Civil Lines, an upscale part of the town 90 km from state capital Lucknow. Moments later, his wife and young son rush out and, in the rapidly unraveling horror, both are shot at close range.
All three died on the spot, the police said.
Mr Jaiswal reached his house in Civil Lines around 9.30 pm and was parking his bike when he was attacked by four men in two bikes. His wife, 42, who came out on hearing the gunshot, and his 16-year-old son, both tried to stop the men from escaping. The son is seen in the footage trying to run back inside when he is shot.
A neighbor, who tried to help and was also shot at, called the police.
There have been no arrests so far. The police suspect it to be a case of robbery. "The people seemed to be resisting a robbery attempt," Additional Director General of Police Abhay Kumar Prasad said.
This is the fifth incident in the past month.
A week ago, a 36-year-old businessman was shot dead in front of the police headquarters in Allahabad.
Last month, a man was shot dead and
four women of his family were allegedly gang-raped at gunpoint on the highway near Jewar. In incidents before that, armed robbers killed two while robbing a jewelry shop and a trader was shot dead in Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's home turf Gorakhpur.
Yogi Adityanath has admitted to a spike in high profile incidents across the state and called them "unfortunate". But he also said his government has inherited a state of 'jungle raj' from its predecessor Samajwadi Party.
"This government is only two months old, for 15 years criminals have been getting support from the government. But the Yogi government will not spare these criminals," said UP Minister Shrikant Sharma.