Major twist in merchant's murder case: Daughter-in-law goes scot-free, interrogation reveals real culprit

KANPUR: It is raining twists in the murder of a medicine trader in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh. The police arrested Subrat, the son of the murdered Vineet Minocha. As per reports, Subrat had promised a sum of Rs 6 lakh to have his father killed and had instructed that, if caught, the name of his wife, Shalu, be implicated.

The arrest followed revelations made to investigating officers by Vishal Gautam, an associate of Vineet and an accused in the case. Police Commissioner Raghubir Lal stated that, in addition to Vishal's statement, circumstantial and technical evidence was also against Subrat.

60-year-old Vineet was stabbed to death at the Rattan Orbit apartment in Kalyanpur on September 5. The very next day, Shalu and two individuals suspected to be contract killers—Vishal and Raj Kishore—were arrested. However, a detailed interrogation of all the accused proved otherwise. Investigation revealed that Vishal had obtained a new SIM card just days before the murder, and the first call made was to Subrat.

Vishal initially stated that Shalu had paid six lakh rupees to have Vineeth killed. However, he changed his statement during detailed interrogation. Vishal revealed that he had mentioned Shalu's name because Subrat asked him to do so. Vishal also stated that Subrat had previously made him commit theft at Vineeth's shop and that there were frequent disputes between the father-son duo.

Police stated that Subrat revealed he was in debt to the tune of approximately Rs 15 lakh. Although he initially attempted to deny the crime, Subrat could not withstand the interrogation once confronted with chat logs and call records. Based on the statement given by another accused, Raj Kishore, the police recovered a blood-stained cloth, a towel, and the flat's key.