A quiet Tuesday evening in Shambhuganj village turned into a scene of horror when a gunman killed his wife and two priests before taking three young children hostage inside his home. The violent episode in the Ahraula police station area of Azamgarh district triggered a tense seven-hour siege that lasted through the night.

It ended early on Wednesday morning after police officers breached the barricaded room to rescue the hostages. The gunman, identified as 40-year-old local resident Arvind Singh, and his eight-year-old son, Shaurya, both died from gunshot wounds following the operation. Two young daughters were rescued physically unharmed from the scene.

How a quiet family ritual turned fatal

The violence erupted around 6:00 pm on Tuesday when Arvind returned to his house. Inside, he found his 32-year-old wife, Babita Singh, participating in a Hindu religious ceremony conducted by five priests.

According to police investigation, Arvind’s mother had invited the priests to perform rituals for the peace of the soul of his brother, Sunil, who was murdered in 2019. Furthermore, family members revealed that Arvind had been suffering from mental distress and aggressive behaviour, frequently assaulting relatives. Hoping to cure him, his mother and wife had arranged the ceremony, suspecting that an evil spirit might be influencing him.

Arvind had strongly opposed the ritual and warned the priests against coming to his house. Upon finding them present, he demanded to see their Aadhaar cards and confronted them angrily.

Describing the sudden onset of violence, an eyewitness local resident said:

"It is a very tragic incident. A puja was being held at the house, and five pandits had arrived. He came and asked the priests, "What is this puja for?" His family tried to reason with him, but he picked a fight with everyone. He shot his wife. Two or three of them tried to flee; two were shot who died, while three managed to save their lives and escape. After that, he took his two children and his sister-in-law's child, three children in total, locked the door, and holed himself up in a room... The administration is currently trying to get the door open somehow."

When Babita objected to his verbal abuse and pointed out that he was insulting the priests, Arvind flew into a rage. He pulled out his licenced revolver and shot Babita first before turning the weapon on the priests. Babita and two priests—Mahendra Pathak, aged 60, and Akhilesh Mishra, aged 50—were killed on the spot. Three other priests managed to run out of the house unharmed.

Initially confirming the triple homicide, Azamgarh Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Anil Kumar stated:

"The wife of the accused and two other persons have died."

Elaborating on the domestic history and the trigger, SSP Anil Kumar later explained:

"After speaking with villagers, the accused's family members, and an individual who survived the shooting unharmed, the investigation so far has revealed that the man involved, Arvind, was mentally disturbed and exhibited aggressive behaviour. His mother and wife had frequently complained about him assaulting family members and engaging in such conduct. Distressed by this situation, his mother and wife had organized a religious ritual. They suspected he was under the influence of an evil spirit and arranged the ceremony in the hope of dispelling it."

The SSP added:

"The accused had been consistently objecting to this and was angry with his family about it. When his wife pointed out that he was insulting the priest conducting the ritual, he became enraged and shot his wife and two other people. All three of them have died. The accused has locked himself in a room along with his children. Our police team is employing tact and dialogue in an effort to safely rescue the children and bring them out unharmed."

Seven hours of tense negotiations through the night

Following the shootings, Arvind barricaded himself inside a room alongside three children: his eight-year-old son Shaurya (also known as Lakha), his ten-year-old daughter Pari, and his 11-month-old infant daughter Saanvi.

Police units from multiple stations quickly surrounded the premises to prevent any further bloodshed. Senior officials rushed to the village to coordinate the response, including District Magistrate Ravindra Kumar, SSP Anil Kumar, Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Sunil Kumar Singh, and Additional Director General (ADG) Naveen Arora of the Varanasi Zone. Forensic experts and an Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) commando unit were also stationed at the scene.

Throughout the night, police officers, family relatives, and village elders maintained a dialogue through the locked door, urging Arvind to surrender peacefully and release the children. However, Arvind refused to comply. He demanded that police teams leave the area and insisted that they wait until the next morning to settle the matter.

Tactical assault launched after gunfire inside

The standoff took a critical turn when a single gunshot echoed from inside the room. Arvind had shot his eight-year-old son, Shaurya.

Recognising that the children were in immediate mortal danger, officers decided to breach the room as a last resort. A tactical assault team, led by SSP Anil Kumar and three to four officers from the Special Operation Group (SOG), used tear gas and stun grenades to force open the door.

As the officers entered, Arvind fired all six rounds from his revolver at them. Police personnel fired three to four precise retaliatory rounds to subdue him. No police officers were injured in the exchange.

Recalling the decisive tactical movement, ADG Varanasi Zone Naveen Arora said:

"Even after a seven-hour siege, the accused refused to come out and kept insisting we wait until morning...Finally, when he opened fire from within, the SSP and three or four members of the SOG team were compelled to break down the door and enter as a last resort. We used stun grenades and tear gas; as the team members, including the SSP, entered, they came under fire and were forced to return fire."

Confirming the rescue operation's primary objective, ADG Arora added:

"It was successful in the sense that, prima facie, we managed to save the lives of all three children. One son had sustained a gunshot wound, a fact discovered only after entering the premises. All three children were sent to the hospital for treatment; the other two were in a state of trauma, suffering from dehydration and a lack of food and water, in addition to mental distress."

Rescue outcomes, tragic losses, and legal action

Officers immediately evacuated the children. Eight-year-old Shaurya, who had already suffered a bullet wound inside the room, was carried out first, followed by his sisters Pari and Saanvi.

While Pari and Saanvi had escaped physical bullet injuries, both girls were traumatised, dehydrated, and suffering from acute distress after spending hours locked in without food or water. They were cared for by medical staff before being safely handed over to relatives.

Shaurya and Arvind were critically injured and rushed to the District Hospital. Despite emergency medical efforts, Shaurya succumbed to his gunshot injury, and Arvind was pronounced dead.

Forensic teams have gathered evidence from the crime scene, and the bodies have been sent for post-mortem examination as formal investigations proceed.