Kanpur double murder: Accused first strangled daughters, killed them hours apart

The man accused of killing his 11-year-old twin daughters in Uttar Pradesh's Kanpur has allegedly confessed to the crime, according to the police. Possible suicidal tendencies have surfaced as the purported reason behind the brutal double-murder. Shashi Ranjan Mishra has admitted that he killed the two girls within a span of 1.5 hours, per officials.

The 48-year-old told investigators that he was suffering from depression and showed no remorse over his actions, the police said. Some medications and intoxicating substances were also recovered from his house. Notably, the accused is a medical representative by profession.

Shashi Ranjan's wife, Reshma Chhetri, has previously said that he had been mentally disturbed since his mother's death and would repeatedly express a desire to die along with the twin girls. The accused has purportedly told the police that he did not want to live long and was worried about what would happen to his daughters after his death.

Shashi Ranjan has also accused his wife of not taking care of the girls. He had been planning the murders for several days, the police claimed. He has purportedly disclosed the sequence of the events from the horrific night and how he acquired the murder weapon.

Detailing the timeline, the police said that Shashi Ranjan first strangled one of his daughters around 01.50 am on Sunday while she was sleeping and then laid her on a sheet before sticking a cleaver to her neck and hitting it with a hammer. He then returned to his bed, the police added.

Then, at around 3.35 am, he allegedly murdered his second daughter in the same manner. The bodies of the pre-teen girls were recovered from the family's residence with cut marks on their necks. The murder weapon was purchased by Shashi Ranjan five days before the incident, officials said. He had hidden the cleaver in a cupboard at home, they added.

Shashi Ranjan's wife has levelled serious allegations of torture against him, saying that he was an alcoholic and would regularly beat her and deprive her of food. Reshma also claimed that her husband had installed CCTV cameras all over the house, including inside his own room.

She alleged that she was subjected to violence by her husband whenever she attempted to leave for her parents' place. The woman also said that her husband would repeatedly ask him to leave with their son and that he would keep the daughters with him.

Speaking about the hours leading to the tragic murder of her daughters, Reshma said that everything seemed normal the night before. She added that the family had dinner together, and then her husband took the twins to his room to sleep.

Reshma said that her husband himself informed the police about the crime. He was arrested by the police from the scene itself.

- Ends

(With inputs from PTI)