Five dead in Azamgarh standoff after man kills wife, two priests and son

• Death of six-year-old Shaurya Singh takes toll in Azamgarh incident to five after his father allegedly killed his mother and two priests before holding three children hostage.

• Police said Shaurya was injured when his father allegedly opened fire inside the house during a nearly seven-hour standoff in Shambhupur village.

• The accused, Arvind Singh, was killed in an exchange of fire with police after allegedly firing at the team that entered the house to rescue the children.

A six-year-old boy who was allegedly shot by his father after the latter killed the child's mother and two priests during a religious ritual in Uttar Pradesh's Azamgarh district has died of his injuries, taking the toll in the incident to five, police said on Thursday, 24 September.

The boy, Shaurya Singh alias Lakha, was among three children held hostage by his father Arvind Singh inside a room at their home in Shambhupur village in the Ahraula area from Tuesday evening until the early hours of Wednesday.

"The child had suffered injuries on his face and was admitted to the district hospital in Azamgarh but died during treatment on Wednesday," SSP Anil Kumar told reporters.

Shaurya's sisters, five-year-old Pari and seven-month-old Sambhavi, were also admitted to the district hospital after the incident. They were counselled and discharged on Thursday before being taken home by police, Kumar said.

Police personnel have also come forward to help the surviving children with personal monetary donations, as well as assured of other help from various government schemes.

The incident began at around 6.00 pm on Tuesday when Singh allegedly returned home and found a four-day religious ritual under way. His wife Babita Singh (32) and priests Mahendra Pathak (60) and Akhilesh Mishra (55) were participating in the ritual, which the family had reportedly organised over concerns about alleged supernatural influences at the house.

Singh allegedly questioned the priests and demanded to see their Aadhaar cards before opening fire with his licensed pistol, killing all three, including his wife. He then allegedly locked himself inside a room with his three children and threatened to kill them. Police teams from eight police stations surrounded the house as senior officers, including the DIG, ADG and SSP, spent hours trying to persuade him to surrender.

Relatives were brought to the spot to speak to Singh, but he refused to come out. Villagers also told police that his behaviour appeared abnormal.

After the standoff continued for nearly seven hours, an ATS team was called in at around 12.20 am on Wednesday. Singh reportedly indicated that he would speak to the team in the morning but remained inside the room with the children.

The situation escalated when police heard gunfire from inside the house. "There were three children inside the room, and police had no option after Singh opened fire," ADG Naveen Arora had said.

Police used stun and tear-gas grenades before breaking open the door. SSP and SOG personnel then entered the room, following which Singh allegedly fired five rounds at the police team. The personnel responded with "controlled fire".

Singh was injured in the exchange and taken to hospital, but died at around 3.30 am.

With PTI inputs