Everything was normal around the house in Kewal Vihar Colony on Melrose Bypass of Aligarh at 2:30 in the afternoon on 12th July 2014. Suddenly, sounds of firing and screaming started coming intermittently from the house where the soldier lived on rent. Everyone was unaware and shocked about the horrifying scene inside. 

The seven-year-old innocent son was clinging to his father's feet, but he was hell-bent on killing the child. He killed the child as well. People were shocked to hear what the soldier Manoj and his injured daughter Usmita told when they were caught after the incident. 

Usmita said that when the father killed the mother during the quarrel, the seven-year-old child fell on his father's feet. But, he forgets the child's plea and shoots him dead. Later he killed the neighbor and then shot the daughter and ran away. However, the crowd caught him.

Neighbors were terrified, fifteen empty shells and cartridges were found on the spot

During this incident, the neighbours were also terrified by the intermittent firing. When the police arrived on the spot and the field unit started the investigation, Seema's dead body was lying on the bed. 

Neighbor Shashibala was lying dead on the threshold of the room, while the son was lying dead inside the room. All three had bullet marks on their heads, temples and neck. A rifle was found in a corner of the spot. The revolver was lying on the ground. Fifteen empty cartridges were found lying with it.

Two families were ruined in this way.

Manoj, originally from Hartouli in Bulandshahr Kotwali Dehat, was married to Seema, daughter of Vijaypal Singh of Barout Chhajmal in Lodha in 1998. Manoj's father Rajendra Pal Singh and farmer brother Yashpal Singh also live in Manoj's village. After marriage, both had children. 

Seema complained about the quarrels in her maternal home. After that, she started living in her maternal home. After his retirement in 2011, the couple agreed and he started living with his family on rent in his brother-in-law's house near the intersection in Keval Vihar.

My brother-in-law lives in Ghaziabad with his family. The daughter studied in Bluebird School and son was in the third class at OLF. In the same house, KP Singh, resident of village Mau, Khair lived on rent with his wife Shashibala. Shashibala was already mother of a five-year-old son Nishant, while three months before the murder, she had given birth to a son. Whose mother's shadow was snatched away in this incident.

He used to beat his wife and children after drinking alcohol.

If we look at the statement given by the injured daughter Usmita, the main eyewitness of the incident, in the court, then her age was 14 years at the time of the incident. She was a student of Class 7 at Bluebird School on GT Road. On the day of the incident, after school got over at 2 o'clock, she came home at around 2:15 AM and her mother and father were fighting. During this time her father took out his licensed revolver and rifle from the cupboard and killed her mother by shooting her on the neck and back. 

Hearing the sound of firing, Shashibala, a tenant living in the neighbourhood, came to rescue him but she too was shot in the head and killed. Meanwhile, his younger brother Manvendra, who was playing in the other room, came and clung to his father's feet but he too was shot in the head and killed. Then she ran out of the house to save herself but was shot too, due to which she got injured and fell there near the tap. 

After this, when Papa ran away with the weapons, the mob caught him. During cross-examination, the girl admitted that Papa used to come home drunk almost every day and quarrel with their mother. He used to beat us two children along with the mother.

Manoj was suffering from depression; when his wife asked him to get treatment he killed her.

After the incident when the police caught the soldier and took him to the police station and questioned him, in his statement he said that he is suffering from a disease in which he feels himself in danger. He feels that he and his family will be harmed in the future. On this his wife insisted that he is suffering from depression; and get treatment for it. After retiring from the army he used to work as a guard in a publishing company in Meerut. Even three days before the incident when he came on leave, his wife pressured him to get treatment. The quarrel had started on this very issue.

He took his revolver and locked himself in the bathroom to commit suicide. When his wife took him out, in anger he first shot his wife as she stood up with the support of the bed. When she survived the first shot, he shot the second one. Then he shot his tenant neighbour, son and daughter. While doing this, he thought that if he died, how would they live? After this, he ran away to give up his life. But the crowd caught him.

The daughter has not gone to meet her father till date

If anyone is the most shocked by this incident then it is Usmita. The extent to which she hates her biological father can be gauged from the fact that to date she has not even mentioned going to meet her father who murdered her brother and mother, let alone going to meet him. Yes, she gets upset now and then remembering her mother and brother. However, Usmita, who is now 23 years old, has been admitted to B.Ed after doing an MBA. 

Since the incident, she has been spending her life at her maternal uncle Dilip Singh's house. He is her guardian. An attempt was made to talk to her regarding the decision. However, the family refused to let her talk due to emotional reasons. Let us tell you that when she was admitted to the hospital and underwent surgery for the injury in her jaw due to the bullet, after getting discharged after about a month, when she was taken home, she refused to meet her father even then.

Uncle expressed happiness over the verdict, silence in the family

When plaintiff Usmita's uncle Dilip Singh was talked to at his Sai Vihar Sarasaul Bannadevi residence regarding this verdict, he looked happy. He said that he cannot bring back his sister and nephew. But the verdict given by the court is welcome and the judge deserves congratulations. He said that he continued to plead the case.

Mother fell ill after this incident. He raised his sister's daughter i.e. niece like his own daughter. On many occasions, there were offers of settlement in the case. But he always rejected the offers. He has a son. Now if needed, he will also go to the High Court. Yes, on Saturday, due to some engagements, he could not reach the court.

PC:Amar Ujala