Police intensify search for missing nephew after 5 of family shot dead in Varanasi

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Two days after a family of five was found dead in Uttar Pradesh's Varanasi, police have intensified their search for a relative, the prime suspect in the case who has been missing since the incident, officials said on Thursday. The police are also set to question the family's tenants who were traced to Mumbai as part of their investigation into the killings that have shaken the Bhelupur area. The five bodies were cremated on Thursday after post-mortem, officials said.

The incident occurred on Monday night in the Bhaidani locality. While the body of Rajendra Gupta was found around 10 kilometres from his house on Tuesday afternoon, his wife Neetu (45), sons Navnendra (25) and Subendra (15), and daughter Gaurangi (16) were found shot dead in their home. Initially, police focused on Rajendra Gupta as the main suspect, given his history in a pending murder case from 1997 and ongoing family disputes. However, shortly after the bodies of his family were discovered, Gupta was found dead in an under-construction house in the Rohaniya area.

His body too bore gunshot wounds. Deputy Commissioner of Police Gaurav Banswal said, "X-rays were conducted as part of the post-mortem examinations and the cremations have now been completed." Banswal noted that initial inquiries with Rajendra's elderly mother suggested that his nephew, Vicky, is the prime suspect. "Police teams are actively tracking Vicky's location, and six teams are now engaged in the search. The motive appears to include both revenge and property disputes and we are confident of an arrest soon," he added.

Vicky, who had recently returned from Bengaluru to Varanasi for Diwali, has been missing since the murders, and his phone remains switched off. Additionally, police are investigating the involvement of three young men from Bihar, who were renting rooms in Rajendra's Bhelupur home. Bhelupur Station House Officer Vijay Shukla confirmed that these tenants, aged 22-25, have been traced to Mumbai, where police have reached out to question them. According to Shukla, questioning will help clarify any role they might have played in the case. Authorities are treating this as a high-priority investigation, given the potential involvement of family dynamics, revenge, and property issues in the killings.

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