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Rs 4.3 lakh truck, a father’s revenge: How a ‘road accident’ in UP was actually a planned hit
An advocate was killed in December after a truck collided with his car in Sonbhadra. Investigators then found the vehicle was bought just 30 days prior but never used.
Police dug deeper and found that the truck had been parked at the residence of Abhay Pal — Mangal’s cousin. (Express Photo)
On December 8 last year, Rajesh Yadav, a 28-year-old advocate, was killed in a head-on collision with a truck in Khutaha area, in Uttar Pradesh’s Sonbhadra. The truck driver fled the scene, abandoning the vehicle.
The case was initially treated as a road accident. But when police examined the truck’s details to trace its driver, they found something surprising. It had been purchased just a month earlier by a local resident, Mangal Pal, ostensibly to transport goods. But the vehicle had never been used, said Superintendent of Police, Sonbhadra, Abhishek Verma.
Police dug deeper and found that the truck had been parked at the residence of Abhay Pal — Mangal’s cousin. The two went missing after Rajesh’s death.
Following an extensive search, police said they arrested Abhay (32) from Sonbhadra on Friday. During questioning, SP Verma said he admitted to the crime.
Rajesh’s death was no accident, police said, but an act of revenge allegedly orchestrated by Mangal.
In March 2023, police said Mangal’s nine-year-old son, Anurag, had been kidnapped and killed. Circle Officer, Sonbhadra, Rahul Pandey said police, during their probe, found that Rajesh was the prime accused in that case.
He and Rajesh were also rivals, involved in a long-standing land dispute.
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During questioning, police said Abhay told them that Mangal was deeply aggrieved over the killing of his son, allegedly by Rajesh and his associates.
Police said Abhay further alleged that a few months ago, Mangal had approached him seeking help to avenge his son’s death.
With Rajesh getting out of jail on bail, Mangal decided to put his plan into motion. Police said he began tracking the advocate’s movements and bought the truck in the name of his aide for Rs 4.30 lakh from a businessman in Mirzapur.
In December, the accused got their chance. Police said Abhay allegedly rammed the truck into Rajesh’s car, killing him on the spot, before abandoning the vehicle and fleeing.
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“They planned the murder as an act of revenge. They had made two attempts earlier, but both failed,” a police officer said.
After they got the details of the truck, investigators analysed call detail records of both Abhay and Mangal, along with their locations on the day of Rajesh’s death, and launched a search operation based on these inputs.
While Abhay is behind bars, Mangal is still at large. Police said Mangal and Rajesh, both involved in the land business, have criminal records.
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