Shamli, January 1: Police have arrested a man for allegedly murdering a family of four due to his personal vendetta in Shamli. The accused, identified as Himanshu Saini, who was a close acquaintance of the deceased family.

Speaking at a press conference, Superintendent of Police (SP) Vineet Jaiswal on Wednesday said: "One of the deceased, Ajay Pathak, was a 'bhajan' singer and organised various programmes, in which the accused used to participate." Uttar Pradesh Honour Killing: 20-Year-Old Dalit Man Burnt Alive in Hardoi.

"The accused was very close to the family. However, the financial condition of the accused was not good. He was burdened with heavy debts. He had previously given Rs 60,000 to Pathak, but when he asked for his money back, he claimed that Pathak used to insult and abuse him," said the SP.

According to Jaiswal, on the night of the incident, the accused had asked for his money, following which he was humiliated again."The accused stole a dagger and a sword from the house. In the middle of the night, he attacked and killed Pathak and his wife. Then he moved to the kids' room, and killed Pathak's elder daughter Vasundhara with the sword, and strangulated his son Bhagwat to death," said Jaiswal.

Jaiswal said that the accused then attempted to carry the bodies to their car, but later covered the bodies of Pathak and his wife with a blanket, and locked Vasundhara's body in a room. He then took the body of his son and drove off in their car, which caught the eye of some of the neighbours.

"Based on the information received from the neighbours, we traced the movement of the car and deployed a surveillance team on Saini. When he noticed the police team following him, he set the car on fire, following which he was arrested, and the body of Pathak's son was recovered from the trunk of the car," he said.

He also said that the weapons used to kill the deceased were recovered, along with the accused's blood-stained clothes."I had taken loans from the bank to pay for my sister's marriage, and I was unable to pay the installments. I was given a period of five months to repay the loan. When a month was left, I asked Pathak for money, but he abused me and even beat me. I felt very insulted. I did not realise what I was doing," said Saini.

Further investigation is underway, said the police. A case has been registered at the local police station under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).