Agra family murder: Neighbours highlight reclusive behaviour of family

Following the shocking incident of a man killing his mother and four sisters in a Lucknow hotel room and then shooting a chilling video on Wednesday, his neighbours in Agra claimed the family was living in the locality for 10-15 years but was reclusive.

The incident has sent shockwaves through the Islam Nagar neighbourhood in Tehri Baghia area of Kuberapur in Agra.

The 24-year-old Mohammad Arshad from Agra took his mother and four sisters to the hotel room in Lucknow and allegedly killed them by slitting their throats and wrists, after which he recorded the video to say he did it because of "helplessness and despair" following "unimaginable atrocities" by people of his locality.

 

Alim Khan, a neighbour, claimed Mohammad Badr and his son Arshad lived here for 10-15 years.

Khan further claimed that he loaned the family some money earlier to construct a part of their house, and that's when they moved in. "But after that, they kept to themselves."  Fatima Begum, another neighbour, said the father-son duo sold readymade clothes for a living but struggled financially.

Babu, an elderly man from a nearby lane, said, "About 8-10 days ago, we heard that the family had left for somewhere. Today, we learned about this tragic incident."  He speculated that poverty might have played a role in the grim turn of events.

Mohammad Islam, another neighbour, echoed these sentiments, and also claimed the family was did not maintain good relations with people of the locality.

The bodies of Arshad's mother and four sisters were recovered from Lucknow's Sharanjeet Hotel this morning.

Arshad was arrested at the scene, while police said his father, Mohammad Badr, is on the run.

After the incident, Arshad's video confessing to the crime went viral. In the 6.5-minute selfie video, he alleged that his actions resulted from harassment by neighbours over a land dispute.

He also alleged that they wanted to usurp the family's property, harm his sisters and were against them converting into Hindus.

However, Arshad did not implicate his father in the killings and squarely blamed their community for pushing him to commit the act.