Lucknow, May 23 (IANS): Cracking the gruesome murder case in Ghaziabad where seven persons of a family, including three children, were hacked to death late Tuesday, Uttar Pradesh Police Thursday arrested the family's former driver who confessed to the killings in a fit of rage.

Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) Arun Kumar said Rahul Mishra, employed as driver, was fired after businessman Satish Chandra Goyal suspected and accused him of stealing Rs.4 lakh from his house.

The driver came to work Tuesday but did not report back for duty the next day when the murders came to light. A police team was put on his trail and caught him late Wednesday, Ghaziabad's Senior Superintendent of Police Nitin Tiwari told IANS.

During interrogation, Mishra broke down and confessed to the crime, said Tiwari, adding Mishra also told police that a few of his friends were also involved in the murders.

Police are now trying to recover the Rs.1 crore that went missing from the house of the Goyals. Some missing jewellery is also to be recovered.

Goyal, wife Manju, son Sachin, daughter-in-law Rekha, and grand-children Megha, Neha and Aman were found murdered in their Nayi Basti house in Ghaziabad Wednesday morning.

Following this, the local police station chief Lallu Lal Maurya was suspended. Further investigations are on.