Azamgarh ritual shooting: Injured boy dies, toll rises to five; SSP adopts two sisters

A six-year-old boy who was shot at by his father during a standoff at their home in Uttar Pradesh's Azamgarh district has died of his injuries, taking the death toll in the incident to five, police said on Thursday.

Shaurya Singh, also known as Lakha, had been admitted to the district hospital in Azamgarh with injuries to his face and died during treatment on Wednesday, Senior Superintendent of Police Anil Kumar said.

The boy's two sisters, five-year-old Pari and seven-month-old Sambhavi, were also taken to the district hospital after the episode, suffering from trauma. Both were counselled and discharged on Thursday, after which police personnel took them home.

According to a press statement, the SSP has adopted the orphaned sisters and said he would take on the role of a parent in their upbringing and education. He also announced that all police personnel in the district would donate a day's salary for the children.

The incident began around 6 p.m. on Tuesday, when Arvind Singh returned to his home in Shambhupur village in the Ahraula area and found a four-day religious ritual under way. His wife, 32-year-old Babita Singh, and two priests, 60-year-old Mahendra Pathak and 55-year-old Akhilesh Mishra, were taking part in the ceremony, which the family had arranged over concerns about ghosts, spirits or other supernatural influences on the house.

Singh is alleged to have questioned the priests and demanded their Aadhaar cards before opening fire with his licensed pistol, killing all three. He then locked himself in a room with his three children and threatened to kill them.

Police teams from eight police stations surrounded the house, and senior officers, including the SSP, spent hours trying to persuade him to surrender. Relatives were brought to the spot to speak with him, but he refused to come out. Villagers told police that his mental condition did not appear to be normal.

With the standoff stretching for nearly seven hours, an Anti-Terror Squad team was called in around 12.20 a.m. Officials said Singh indicated he would speak to them in the morning but stayed inside the room with the children. The situation turned critical when police heard gunfire from inside.

Additional Director General Naveen Arora said police had no option after Singh opened fire, as three children were inside the room. Stun and tear-gas grenades were used before the door was broken open, after which the SSP and Special Operations Group personnel entered. Singh allegedly fired five rounds at the police team, prompting them to return controlled fire.

Singh was injured in the exchange and taken for treatment, but died around 3.30 a.m.