Mahoba (UP), Apr 21 (PTI): The case involving a body found in a village drain took a sinister turn after a probe revealed that the man was allegedly killed by his own wife, daughters and minor son over fears that he would squander money meant for his daughter's wedding, police said on Tuesday.

The body of Harnarayan Prajapati (36) was found on April 14 in a drain near Haivatpura Brahmanan village under Panwari police station limits in Mahoba.

In an apparent attempt to divert suspicion, his family initially approached police and lodged a complaint, expressing suspicion against a neighbour with whom the deceased had frequent quarrels, officials said.

"As soon as information was received that a body was lying in a drain in Haibatpura village, police teams reached the spot and conducted an inspection. The deceased was identified as Harnarayan Prajapati.

"Considering the injuries, a prima facie case of murder was suspected and a case was registered on the basis of the family's complaint," SP Shashank Singh told reporters.

He said multiple teams, including the Special Operations Group and surveillance unit, were deployed to investigate the case.

"We examined the deceased's last movements, phone records and other aspects, but no concrete leads emerged. Suspicion then shifted towards the family as they were not cooperating with the investigation," Singh said.

As investigators probed deeper, inconsistencies in the family's version surfaced and sustained questioning led to a breakthrough. The case unravelled into an alleged conspiracy involving the victim's wife Ram Pyari, daughters Jyoti, Sonali and Pooja, a minor son, and Jaibir, a friend of one of the daughters. All have been taken into custody, police said.

"During interrogation, the family revealed that the deceased was addicted to alcohol and gambling. Recently, he had collected around Rs 82,500 by selling livestock for his daughter's marriage. The family feared he would squander the money, which caused resentment," Singh said.

"Despite persuasion, when he continued towards misuse of the money, the family, in frustration, hatched a plan. His wife, daughters, a minor son and a friend of one of the daughters strangulated him with a rope while he was asleep and dumped the body in a drain," he added.

Police said the accused also tried to erase evidence and mislead the probe.

"To mislead the investigation, they broke and discarded the deceased's mobile phone and hid the cash," the SP said, adding that the rope used in the crime, the concealed Rs 82,500 and the damaged mobile phone have been recovered.

Further legal proceedings are underway, police said, adding that a reward of Rs 10,000 has been announced for the police teams that cracked the case. PTI KIS PRK

(This story is published as part of the auto-generated syndicate wire feed. No editing has been done in the headline or the body by ABP Live.)