UP Businessman Was Murdered As Son Feared He Would Give Property To Lover

The son of a pharmaceutical dealer in Uttar Pradesh's Kanpur allegedly conspired to kill his father fearing that he would transfer his property to some other woman, police have said after arresting him in the murder case.

The body of Vineet Manocha, 60, was found with his throat slit in his flat in the upscale Indira Nagar area in Kanpur on September 5. At the time of his alleged killing, the victim was alone at home, while his son, Subrat, had gone to a party with his wife, Shalu.

During the initial investigation, the police had said the mastermind was Vineet's daughter-in-law and arrested her, along with their former employee, Vishal Gautam, and his associate, Rajkishore.

The police later found out that the alleged killer made six calls to Subrat from a newly purchased SIM. He was also then arrested on September 23.

Father Had Relationships With Multiple Women

During interrogation, Subrat told police that he plotted the murder as his father had relationships with several women and feared that he would start living with another woman and transfer all his property in her name.

The initial plan was to make the death appear accidental or natural, but the plan was later changed, the police said.

Subrat's father gave him around Rs 40,000 every month for his expenses, while he was paying about Rs 55,000 a month towards loan instalments, the police said.

Deleted chats between Subrat and Vishal were also recovered and their locations had coincided at several points before the murder.

Police also alleged that Subrat and Vishal had attempted to divert suspicion towards Shalu.

Kanpur's Police Commissioner Raghubir Lal told the news agency PTI that the conspiracy came to light through analysis of call detail records (CDRs), CCTV footage, digital and scientific evidence, recoveries and other circumstantial evidence.

He said that Vishal told investigators that Subrat had asked him to kill his father and allegedly promised him Rs 6 lakh.

'Take Wife's Name If Caught'

Kanpur's top police officer said that Vishal had also claimed that Subrat had instructed him to name Shalu if he was caught.

Vishal, a former employee of the family, had obtained a new SIM card a couple of days before the murder and made his first call from the number to Subrat, Lal said.

During questioning, 36-year-old Shalu allegedly broke down and told police that she had been implicated to protect her husband.

Subrat, who had remained under suspicion during the investigation, was also questioned extensively before his arrest.

Lal, however, said that Shalu has not yet been given a clean chit.