Kanpur businessman planned a hit job on father, then framed wife for murder: Cops

The day after the murder, police arrested Shalu and the two men. Vishal, a former employee at Vineet’s pharmacy on Birhana Road, told police that Shalu had allegedly hired him for Rs 6 lakh to kill her father-in-law.

Shalu had denied the allegation during questioning.

The case took a turn during the police custody remand of the three accused, when investigators confronted Subrat with the others. After several rounds of questioning and cross-examination, police said Subrat admitted to his role.

“We arrested Subrat, who has turned out to be the mastermind behind the case,” said Deputy Commissioner of Police, Kanpur, SM Qasim Abidi.

Kanpur Police Commissioner Raghubir Lal said the investigation, based on call detail records, CCTV footage, recoveries and other scientific evidence, indicated that Subrat had conspired with Vishal and Raj Kishore to murder his father.

Lal said the investigation had not produced any corroborative evidence against Shalu. Police have decided to re-verify her role before moving court to have her exonerated.

Debt, thefts and clashes with his father

Subrat held seven credit cards and was under heavy debt of around Rs 40 lakh, including loans and money borrowed from private lenders, Assistant Commissioner of Police, Kanpur, Dileep Kumar Singh, said.

Subrat also claimed his father gave him Rs 40,000 a month for his living expenses, while he had to pay around Rs 55,000 a month towards loan installments.

“Under financial pressure, Subrat allegedly began taking medicines from the shop and selling them through Vishal to raise money. Vineet caught him several times and scolded him, often in front of the staff,” an officer said.

When asked where the Rs 40 lakh had gone, Subrat claimed it was spent on partying and gambling, according to an officer.

The murder itself had been in the works for around five months, said police.

Subrat and Vishal spoke nearly two to three times a day, investigators said, and allegedly plotted the crime in the basement of the pharmacy.

The original plan, police said, was to strangle Vineet in his sleep.

But Vineet had walked in on the two accused, who were hiding in Subrat’s room, and they allegedly attacked him before he could raise an alarm.

Attempt to frame Shalu

Police said Subrat admitted to giving Vishal the key to the house, helping him gain entry.

The plan, according to police, was for Shalu to facilitate Vishal’s entry into the apartment under the name ‘Shubham’ as Vineet disliked Vishal visiting the house.

After his arrest, Vishal initially implicated Shalu, claiming she had given him the key, facilitated his entry, and planned the killing.

Shalu, however, never admitted to the crime.

The questions that raised suspicion

Police said there was another part to the plan: if the murder came to light, Vishal and the other accused were to pin it on Shalu.

Shalu was also told to facilitate Vishal’s entry into the apartment under the name ‘Shubham’, on the pretext that Vineet disliked him visiting the house.

This was also the account Vishal allegedly gave after his arrest, saying Shalu had given him the key, facilitated his entry and planned the murder.

Subrat’s answers during questioning further drew attention to him, said police.

Investigators asked him why he had failed to recognise Vishal when shown CCTV footage from the building, while Shalu had identified him immediately. “Subrat claimed he was drunk at the time and couldn’t recognise him right away,” said a police officer.

He was also questioned about why the CCTV recording installed at the house had been stopped on the day of the murder. Subrat initially said he had done it on Shalu’s instructions. “When we brought him face-to-face with Shalu, he admitted that she had not asked him to do so. He then said he could not recall who had,” police said.

Investigators also found that Subrat and Vishal had allegedly deleted message chats from their phones after the murder.