LUCKNOW: The son of a pharmaceutical trader allegedly conspired to kill his father fearing that the 60-year-old man, who had relationships with several women, might end up transferring his property to another woman, police said Thursday, days after arresting the victim’s daughter-in-law and two alleged contract killers in the case.Vineet Manocha (60), who ran a pharmaceutical firm on Birhana Road with his son, was stabbed to death at his Ratan Orbit apartment in Kalyanpur in Kanpur on September 5.His son Subrat Manocha was arrested on Wednesday night and sent to judicial custody on Thursday. He was subsequently taken to jail, police said.Police had arrested Vineet’s daughter-in-law Shalu Manocha and alleged contract killers Vishal and Rajkishore the day after the murder.The arrest of Subrat has also opened the possibility of Shalu being released from the case, with police saying she has not been given a clean chit yet but that a report could be submitted before the court if sufficient evidence is not found against her.Commissioner of police Raghubir Lal told 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.Deputy commissioner of police (West) SM Qasim Abidi said Subrat had accumulated debts of more than Rs 40 lakh through gambling and IPL betting.According to police, 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.During interrogation, Subrat told police that 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. So, he hatched the plan to kill him.The police said the initial plan was to make Vineet’s death appear accidental or natural, but the plan was later changed.Police also found deleted chats between Subrat and Vishal and said their locations had coincided at several points before the murder.These findings prompted police to revisit the allegations against Shalu, who was arrested along with Vishal and Rajkishore during the initial investigation.Lal said the subsequent probe had so far not found sufficient corroborating evidence establishing Shalu’s involvement.Police also alleged that Subrat and Vishal had attempted to divert suspicion towards Shalu.“All scientific, digital, CDR, CCTV and circumstantial evidence will be independently verified and scrutinised,” Lal said, adding that if Shalu’s involvement was not established after a proper investigation, police would submit a report before the court.According to Lal, Vishal told investigators that Subrat had asked him to kill his father and allegedly promised him Rs 6 lakh. Vishal also allegedly claimed that Subrat had instructed him to name Shalu if he was caught.Police are verifying Vishal’s allegations against call records and other digital and circumstantial evidence. Lal said Subrat had not confessed to the murder.Police also found that Vishal 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.Police questioned Subrat, Shalu and Vishal in several rounds on Wednesday night.During one confrontation, Shalu allegedly broke down and told police that she had been implicated to protect Subrat.Subrat, who had remained under suspicion during the investigation, was detained and questioned extensively before his arrest.Police said investigators had prepared more than 100 questions and were examining the accused over their movements, phone calls, financial transactions and other links surrounding the murder.During the remand, police also took Vishal to Ratan Orbit, where he allegedly threw a key while fleeing after the murder. The key was subsequently recovered from an empty plot adjoining the apartment complex, police said.Rajkishore was taken to Kanpur Central railway station, where police claimed to have recovered his blood-stained trousers and a black scarf from behind a public toilet on his pointing-out.Lal said Shalu, Vishal and Rajkishore were sent back to jail after undergoing a medical examination around 11am on Thursday, about an hour before their 24-hour police custody remand ended.He stressed that Shalu had not yet been given a clean chit.The 24-hour custody remand of the three accused ended at noon on Thursday, after which they were scheduled to be taken back to jail following the medical examination, PTI reported.(With agency inputs)
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