Lucknow, Aug 11 (IANS) An army soldier was Thursday arrested for allegedly killing his wife, six-year-old son and four-month-old daughter by setting them ablaze at their home in a village in Uttar Pradesh.


Manoj Kumar, 30, confessed to the grisly crime that took place Wednesday in his home in Kurari village in Ramabai Nagar district, about 120 km from here, police said.

“Mukesh wanted to give a suicide angle to the incident. But we were suspicious and interrogated him. He broke down, following which he was arrested Thursday," police inspector S.P. Sonkar told reporters in Ramabai Nagar.

“Though Mukesh has claimed he committed the crime in a fit of rage after a heated argument with his wife, we are carrying out investigations to ascertain the exact cause behind the incident," he added.

Kumar, a soldier in the army, is posted in Shahjahanpur district and had come on leave about 10 days ago.