Kanpur man kills twin daughters by slitting their throats; arrested

Kanpur: A man allegedly killed his 11-year-old twin daughters by slitting their throats with a cleaver after giving them food laced with sleeping pills at an apartment in Kanpur, police said.

Shashi Ranjan Mishra, 48, a medical representative, was arrested from his house, police said.

According to his wife, Reshma, Mishra had been mentally disturbed following his mother's death and had repeatedly expressed a desire to die along with the children. She demanded the death penalty for him, saying that he "does not deserve to live".

The crime took place at Kidwai Nagar's Trimoorti Apartment in the Naubasta area, where Mishra lived with his wife, Reshma, who hails from West Bengal's Siliguri, his 11-year-old twin daughters, and their six-year-old son.

Commissioner of Police Raghubir Lal told PTI, "A police response vehicle received a call at around 4.30 am about the murder of twin sisters. On reaching the flat, the personnel found both girls lying dead in a pool of blood, while the accused was present inside."

Mishra, who originally hails from Bihar, himself alerted them about the incident. He has been detained and is being questioned, Lal said, adding that "Prima facie, the father appears to be mentally disturbed. Further investigation is underway."

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 a post-mortem.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (South) Deependra Nath Chaudhary said preliminary findings suggest that the girls were attacked while they were fast asleep, but the motive remains unclear.

The police are also examining the sequence of events inside the house, including how the mother, who was present at the time, became aware of the crime.

She is in shock and has not yet been interrogated, said an official, adding that footage from the CCTV camera is being examined.

Hours after his arrest, the accused's wife, Reshma, demanded the death penalty for Mishra, saying that he "does not deserve to live" after the brutal killing of their twin daughters.

She told police that she married Mishra in 2014 after meeting him while working at a parlour in Kanpur, and alleged that while their marriage was initially stable, he later turned violent, often assaulting her under the influence of alcohol and consuming sleeping pills.

She also claimed that he was excessively suspicious and had installed CCTV cameras throughout the house, restricting her access to his room, where the daughters stayed.

According to her, Mishra had been mentally disturbed following his mother's death and had repeatedly expressed a desire to die along with the children.

Recounting the sequence of events, Reshma said the night appeared normal as the family had dinner before Mishra took the daughters to his room.

Later, when she monitored the CCTV feed, she reportedly saw that around 2.30 am, her husband took one child to the washroom, and later switched off the lights. By the morning, the children were found dead.

Police said the accused has confessed to mixing sleeping pills in the children's food, strangling them, and later slitting their throats with a cleaver purchased a day earlier, before calling the police and surrendering.

During questioning, he reportedly cited anxiety about his daughters' future as a reason. An FIR has been registered at Naubasta on the wife's complaint, the weapon has been recovered, and investigators are probing psychological distress, depression, and possible financial strain as contributing factors, officials said.