Police sources said the suspect intended to kill himself after the murders.
The murder of a teacher, his wife and two young children in Amethi was being planned by the suspect for nearly a month and he had announced his intentions publicly, albeit in a cryptic manner, police have said. They said the man also intended to kill himself afterwards.
Sunil Kumar, his wife Poonam Bharti and their two daughters - who were just one and six years old - had been shot dead at their home in Amethi's Bhavani Nagar on Thursday. Soon after the gruesome murders, it had come to light that Bharti had filed a police complaint against one Chandan Verma less than two months ago in which she had said that he had threatened to kill her on more than one occasion and would be responsible if anything happened to her or her family.
In a first information report (FIR), Bharti had said she had gone to a hospital in Rae Bareli on August 18 when Verma had misbehaved with her and then slapped her and her husband when she had protested.
"He said 'If you report this I will kill you'. He has threatened to kill me before this as well. My family is in danger. If any incident or accident happens with me or my husband in the future, Chandan Verma will be responsible. I request you to register my complaint and take appropriate action," she had said.
On Friday, sources in the police said that they have taken Chandan Verma into custody and found a screenshot of his WhatsApp status from September 12 in which he said: "5 people are going to die, I will show you soon."
The officials said the screenshot and their initial investigation have pointed to Verma's plan of killing himself after murdering the family. He had also allegedly visited a famous temple in Amethi just before the murders were carried out.
Political Fallout
The killings have also led to the Uttar Pradesh government, led by Yogi Adityanath, coming under attack from the opposition. Officials said the chief minister had taken note of the incident and immediately asked for the culprits to be punished, while handing over the investigation to the UP Special Task Force (STF).
"The incident that happened in Amethi district today is highly condemnable and unforgivable. My condolences are with the bereaved family. @UPGovt stands with the victim's family in this hour of grief. The culprits of this incident will not be spared at any cost, strictest legal action will be taken against them," Yogi Adityanath had posted on X on Thursday.
Hitting out at the UP government, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav had kept his reaction short and appeared to wonder whether agencies meant to keep the people of the state secure were present at all.
"Koi hai, kahin hai (Is anyone there, is someone there anywhere)," Mr Yadav said in a post on X while sharing a news report on the murders.
Amethi MP Kishori Lal Sharma from the Congress said on Friday that Rahul Gandhi, who is the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, had spoken to the father of one of the victims.
"The incident shows the deteriorating law-and-order situation in the state. The state government has been patting its back over law and order and if things are so good, how are such incidents happening," Mr Sharma asked.