Man Murders Cousin, Her 3 Minor Children After She 'Humiliated' Him Over Debt

A 35-year-old man in India murdered his cousin and her three minor children after the woman "humiliated" him for not repaying the money he had borrowed from her.

Santhosh Rathore, 35, along with his two friends, Veeru Valmiki and Anshul Rathore, from Agra, a city in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, reportedly killed Rekha and her kids on July 21. The police have arrested Santhosh and Veeru, while Anshul is still absconding, The Times of India reported.

Santhosh told the police he had borrowed $2,690 (INR 200,000) from Rekha two years ago and could not repay the amount. During a police interrogation, Santhosh admitted he had conspired with his friends to take revenge on Rekha, who reportedly insulted him in public over the debt.

The suspects went to the victim's house on July 21 and parked their vehicle away from the house. They then drugged the victims by lacing their tea with a sedative before slitting their throats with a knife and scissors, senior police officer Naveen Aurora said.

After murdering the woman and her kids, the suspects ransacked the house for around four hours. They reportedly stole cash, jewelry, a laptop, a tablet and a mobile phone before fleeing the place. Santhosh was aware that Rekha had around $5,380 (INR 400,000) in her house and he intended to steal the money after killing her, another investigating officer, Subash Pandey, told the media.

When Rekha's neighbors alerted the police after finding the bodies, the officers suspected it to be a case of robbery as the house was ransacked, India Today reported.

The police used electronic evidence and surveillance video to zero in on the suspects, a report by Times Now News said.

In another incident in India, a 52-year-old man was beheaded earlier this month after he reportedly failed to repay a loan taken from one of the suspects. The victim, identified by first name Shahzad from Delhi, was allegedly kidnapped and murdered by three men identified as Riyasat Khan, Javed and Nadeem. During a police interrogation, Khan admitted he decided to kill Shahzad after he failed to repay the dues and took the help of the other two suspects. The victim's decapitated body was discovered four days after the murder.