Man Arrested In UP Serial Killings Case Confesses To 6 Murders

A man suspected to be involved in a series of murders targeting middle-aged women in Bareilly during the past year has been arrested, officials said on Friday.

The accused, Kuldeep Kumar, was identified and arrested on Thursday by a team from Shahi police station from near the banks of the Mathiya with the help of a tip and previously prepared sketches and videos, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Anurag Arya said.

Kumar, aged about 35 years, has confessed to killing six women, police said.

The arrest followed an intensive investigation involving the review of CCTV camera footage, deployment of decoys and analysis of mobile data, Mr Arya said.

Murders of six middle-aged women in forest at isolated places, mainly in the Shahi and Sheeshgarh areas, had come to light during the past year and murder cases were registered in connection with these incidents at Shahi and Sheeshgarh police stations, he said.

Initially, the police had said nine women were killed in the Shahi-Sheeshgarh area since last year and suspected that the murders were perpetrated by the same person who strangled the victims.

A year on, the Bareilly police issued sketches of suspects on the basis of witness descriptions.

The latest victim, Anita Devi from Haujpur village, was found with strangulation marks on July 2. The first victim was Kusma from Khajuria village who was killed almost a year ago in July.

The lack of leads prompted Inspector General of Police (Bareilly Range) Rakesh Singh to take direct command of the investigation.

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