In a gruesome incident, a man shot his wife and three children dead in the Bhadaini area of Varanasi late on Monday night and fled the spot.
The incident took place in Bhadaini under the jurisdiction of the Bhelupur police station. The accused, identified as Rajendra Gupta (45), a liquor contractor, is still absconding.
While Rajendra Gupta was on a shooting spree, his tenants took it for the sound of firecrackers. His neighbours came to know about the cold-blooded killings only after the cook arrived at his house on the morning of Tuesday.
On receiving the information about the incident, a team from the Bhelupur police station, along with forensic experts and a dog squad, rushed to the spot.
The police identified the deceased as wife Neetu Gupta (42), wife of the accused, their sons, Navnendra (25) and Subendra (15), and daughter Gaurangi (16). As many as 20 tenants live in their house, but none have a clue to the crime.
After entering the house, the police team found Neetu lying dead in a pool of blood along with her three children but Rajendra was missing.
It has come to light that Rajendra was in contact with some tantric who is said to have told him that his wife and children were a hindrance in his progress. The police are searching for the tantrik along with Rajendra, who has been in jail in murder cases.
The police are also interrogating the neighbours and relatives of the family in search of leads in the case. The people who live nearby said that the accused was involved in murders with a guard 20 years ago and had returned home after serving his sentence. Neetu was his second wife.