Sitapur triple murder case cracked: Businessman kills woman to avenge betrayal, daughters killed after assault

LUCKNOW: Working out the triple murder case which shocked Sitapur residents, police arrested three persons, including the key conspirator who killed the woman and her two minor daughters on the intervening night of Saturday and Sunday. Three more persons were being hunted.
On early Sunday morning, bodies of two girls aged about 8 and 13 were recovered from Sharda canal in Hargaon area.The two were identified on the same day after a relative of the two girls identified their corpses. On visiting their house within the congested part of the city on Sunday noon, the police team found their mother missing.
The first set of clues were picked up from the woman’s one-room house. Police found five glasses on the bed and it seemed some people had consumed liqour in the woman’s room.
Through local inquiries, it was found that the woman was in a relationship with multiple men but an unmarried businessman in early 30s Naveen Gupta often stayed with her. Naveen was traced and picked up from his house at Awas Vikas colony.
What was detected later left the investigators in shock. The woman had a traditional Hindu wedding with a Hardoi based man. But he was addicted to alcohol. Five years back, the couple fought and the woman left the house along with her daughters.
She shifted to her parental place in Sitapur. But her family asked her to go back to her in-laws. The woman started doing odd jobs and look after her children. She came in contact with Naveen. A businessman who had a mobile-cum-surveillance equipment shop, Naveen got close to the woman soon.
However, the woman started mounting pressure on him to marry her. He felt dejected when the 34-year-old started wooing another man who was known to Naveen and had been introduced by him.
Determined to kill the woman, along with his acquaintances and friends identified as Dileep, Pankaj, Rahul, Mukesh and Zubair, the businessman started preparing for a gruesome act. “The group had arranged for vehicles in advance; bought jute sacks, gathered broken bricks and salt packets at Naveen’s shop that is located near Nepalpur crossing,” said Sitapur police superintendent Sureshrao Kulkarni who decided to felicitate the team which worked out the case on Wednesday.
Naveen first took the woman to the house. His friends were present at the shop. The group gagged the woman and strangulated her with computer cable. Along with Naveen they reached the woman’s house. Naveen took the two daughters with him telling them that they all would have dinner.
Others consumed liqour. The group joined Naveen and the girls at the shop. At this point the group members gagged the 13-year-old girl, sexually assaulted her before strangulating her. The younger child was also killed with computer cable.
After waiting for few hours the group set out in a car along with woman’s body. Her corpse was dumped in Sarayan, a tributary of Gomti river. Later on bodies of the two children were dumped in Sharda canal 20 km away. Police have arrested Naveen, Zubair and Dileep. Efforts to nab the remaining were on.
Inspector general of Lucknow range Jai Narain Singh said that the team would be given cash reward for the working out the case within 48 hours.