Father Allegedly Kills 11-Year-Old Twin Daughters in Kanpur, Arrested

KANPUR: A 48-year-old man allegedly strangled and slit the throats of his 11-year-old twin daughters after sedating them in the Kidwai Nagar area of the city early Sunday. The father, Shashi Ranjan Mishra, a pharmaceutical businessman, was arrested from the scene after he reported the crime on Dial-112. The bodies of the twins, both Class 5 students, were found lying in a pool of blood in their room. Police commissioner Raghubir Lal said a knife was seized from the scene. Police said Mishra called around 4:30 am to report the incident. After killing his daughters, he sat near the bodies and called the police, saying: "I have killed my children. Please come." When police arrived, the door was locked. His wife, Reshma Kshetri, 40, opened it after the bell rang. On learning of her husband's call, she rushed to his room and found her daughters dead on the floor with Mishra sitting beside them. The couple's 6-year-old son was asleep with his mother in another room at the time. Police said Mishra confessed to the killings and was taken into custody for questioning. DCP South Deependra Nath Chaudhary said an FIR was registered against Mishra at Naubasta police station on the complaint of Reshma. Police said mental stress, depression and financial problems were among the suspected reasons for the murder. Initial investigation also revealed that the accused was suspicious of his wife and installed CCTV cameras from the building entrance to the bedroom. The accused confessed that he hatched a plan to kill his daughters and then commit suicide. But after killing them, he panicked and could not go ahead with his plan. He said that he purchased a chopper from the Kakadeo area a day before the murder. He first mixed sleeping pills into their food and when they became unconscious, he strangled both of them and then slit their throats. Forensic teams have inspected the scene and collected evidence, while a sniffer dog unit was also called. The bodies of the deceased have been sent for post-mortem examination. The police are also examining the sequence of events inside the house, including how the mother, who was present at the time, was unaware of the crime.