Uttar Pradesh: Tenant burns alive two children, injures woman in Kanpur Dehat

KANPUR: A woman suffered serious burns while her two kids died after being set ablaze allegedly by their tenant in Nehru Nagar locality under the limits of Akbarpur Kotwali police station in Kanpur Dehat district on Sunday night.
The accused, Avneesh Prajapati (25), who is husband of a lady constable Usha, also sustained serious head injuries after being hit by a truck while fleeing after the crime, police said on Monday.
Avneesh allegedly poured petrol on Archana (39), wife of corporator Jitendra Yadav, her five-year-old daughter Akshita and 15-month-old son Hanu and set them on fire. The two children succumbed while the woman and the injured accused are undergoing treatment at a hospital in Kanpur.
Police said the incident took place when Archana was cooking food. Her two children were also sitting with her while Jitendra was in some other section of the house. Suddenly, Avneesh arrived at the spot, doused Archana and the two children with petrol and set them afire.
After hearing screams, Jitendra and his neighbours alerted the police after rescuing them. The police admitted the woman and the two children to Ursala Horseman hospital in Kanpur.
Avneesh, who was being chased upon by locals, was hit by a speeding vehicle on the highway and sustained serious head injuries. He, too, was admitted to a hospital in Kanpur. The two kids succumbed to burns.
SP Kanpur Dehat Keshav Kumar Choudhary said, “It has come to fore that Avneesh has been reeling under depression. We are trying to find out as to what actually prompted him to commit the crime.”
“At the time of the incident, Usha was on duty at Akbarpur Kotwali police station,” police said.