A man accused of killing a widow and her visually impaired son in Lucknow‘s Mohanlalganj area was shot in the leg and arrested late Wednesday night after he opened fire on a police team in Hulaskheda. The accused, identified as Kishan Rawat, a mason and neighbour of the victims, had been on the run since the double murder was discovered on Monday night. A rape charge has since been added to the case based on findings from the post-mortem examination.
The Victims and How They Were Killed
The deceased have been identified as 48-year-old Reshma Bano, a widow who ran a small paan-masala stall to support herself and her son, and her 18-year-old visually impaired son Shadab. According to ACP Vikas Kumar Pandey, Rawat owed Reshma Rs 160 and came to her house on Monday evening under the pretext of returning the money.
When he arrived, Shadab was alone at home and turned him away, asking him to return when his mother came back. A short while later, when Reshma returned home, Rawat came back as well. Shadab heard his voice and allegedly abused him, at which point Rawat kicked the blind young man. Shadab fell into a water tank. Rawat then strangled him and placed another tank over the body to conceal it.
When Reshma tried to intervene and fight back, Rawat pushed her down and attacked her. According to police, she was sexually assaulted when she resisted, and was then strangled to death. Police said injury marks were found near the woman’s private parts, and a rape charge has been added to the FIR accordingly.
After the killings, Rawat allegedly brutalised the woman’s body further and sat near the dead bodies drinking alcohol before leaving the scene. CCTV footage captured him walking away from the spot after the crime.
How the Bodies Were Discovered
The bodies were found on Monday night after Reshma failed to answer her phone. Her brother-in-law, who lives in Aashiana Aurangabad, grew concerned and sent a relative to check on her. The relative arrived to find the gruesome scene. Shadab’s body was found in the water tank, and Reshma’s semi-clad body was found near a cot, wrapped in a quilt.
Five police teams were formed to track down the accused. CCTV footage from the area confirmed Rawat’s presence near the scene and helped narrow down his location.
Encounter in Hulaskheda, Constable Injured
On Wednesday night at around 10.45, a police team led by Inspector Brajesh Kumar Singh and Sisendi Outpost in-charge Anoop Singh spotted a suspicious individual walking on foot near a brick kiln in Hulaskheda. When police tried to stop him, the man fled and opened fire from behind a tree. Constable Amit Singh was shot in the foot during the exchange.
Police returned fire and shot Rawat in his left leg. He fell to the ground and was apprehended. During questioning he identified himself as Kishan Rawat and confessed to killing both the mother and son. He was taken to hospital for treatment of his injury.
ACP Pandey confirmed that Rawat had a history of domestic violence and that his wife had left him and returned to her parents’ home unable to bear his behaviour. The case has drawn comparisons to a similar incident in nearby Gaura village, where a 13-year-old girl and her five-year-old brother were killed in a forest after an attempted sexual assault, a case that was solved by police who arrested a local youth.
