Gruesome murder shocks Lucknow: Man films chilling video after killing mother, 4 sisters – ‘Saved their honour’

Lucknow woke up to a shocking incident on New Year’s morning; a man from Agra killed his mother and four sisters. The horrific crime took place inside a room at Hotel Sharanjeet situated in the Naka area of Uttar Pradesh’s capital.

The accused, identified as Arshad (24), plotted the murder with his father, Badar, according to a Times of India report. A video has gone viral on social media where the accused explains the reasons behind the extreme step and how he committed the crime. He shared the clip online, in which he shows the lifeless bodies of his four sisters and mother.

The accused, a resident of Agra, alleged he was under immense pressure; his community and other people forced him to take this extreme step.

Arshad came to Lucknow with his family on the pretext of celebrating the New Year but had other plans. After committing the gruesome murders, he dropped his father at the railway station and approached the police station to report the crime. CCTV footage from the railway station is being scanned to locate Badar, who is absconding.

The victims have been identified as mother Asma and her daughters - Aliya (9), Aqsa (16), Alsiha (19) and Rehmeen (18).

In the viral video, the accused defending his actions said that he committed the killings as he did not want his “sisters to be sold" in Hyderabad. He alleged that the community in the area where he lived harassed their family in connection with land grabbing and were plotting to sell his sisters after sending the men of the family to jail.

How did Arshad murder five women of his family?

The accused stuffed cloth in his mother's mouth and strangled her with a dupatta. He murdered his sisters by slitting their wrists after stuffing cloth into their mouths.

“Regarding the bodies recovered, some show signs of injuries – on the wrist of one, on the neck of another. Based on these marks, statements from witnesses and the post-mortem report, we are conducting a detailed investigation into the matter,” PTI quoted Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime and Headquarters) Babloo Kumar.

Mint could not verify the video's authenticity, while media reports claim that the man in the video is the 24-year-old accused.

“I killed them (mother and sisters) with my father. What choice did I have? See them being sold in Hyderabad?" Arshad can be heard saying in the video. Addressing Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, he said, “Ensure they get justice. They struggled a lot today. We have saved their honour.”

Lucknow DCP Ravina Tyagi said, “Arshad has been taken into custody, during which he revealed that he first got his sisters and mother drunk and then strangulated some of them and slit the wrists of the others,” reported ANI.