Uttar Pradesh: Love & blackmail? Teacher whips out gun, kills colleague

LUCKNOW: A 40-year-old woman, who worked as a teacher at a government school, was allegedly shot by her male colleague inside the school premises in Sitapur on Saturday evening.
Police said that the male colleague identified as Amit Kaushal (30) was arrested and an illegal pistol which he used to shoot the teacher was recovered from his possession. Kaushal told police that he was in a relationship with the victim Aradhna Rai and of late she had started blackmailing her.
The incident took place inside the government school in Pakriya village under Maanpur police station of the district.
Police said that the victim Aradhna Rai was married and a resident of Lucknow. She was working in the Sitapur school for the past five years. The accused is unmarried and had joined the school last year, police said.
“On Saturday morning, a verbal spat took place between the duo after Kaushal reportedly marked a casual leave (CL) against the name of Aradhna on the teachers’ attendance register,” said the Superintendent of police, Sitapur, RP Singh.
Later, after the school got over in the evening while the victim was sitting inside staff room and finishing her work, the accused barged inside and shot at her before fleeing, the officer said. Aradhna died on the spot. Singh further added that on the information of the principal, police teams nabbed the accused.
“I was in a relationship with Aradhna and she had promised to divorce her husband. In August, we had decided to get married. But of late she started behaving strangely and blackmailing me,” Kaushal told police during interrogation.
“I was so obsessed with her that I had no choice but to end this all,” said the accused to newsmen. Singh, however, said that an FIR has been registered on the complaint of the victim’s husband and a probe would be conducted.