Friends and family members of the murdered couple said they planned to settle abroad for a better life, until the financial dispute with the suspect ended their lives.
Vikram Singh, a native of Chakkarnagar in Etawah, Uttar Pradesh, had moved to the city more than a decade ago and started working as an executive at a BPO. Over the years, he had been promoted to a senior associate in the back-end process. Abhinav Aggarwal, his former colleague, allegedly offered to help the couple move to Dubai for a job.
Varun, a colleague of the deceased, said that Abhinav had told Vikram that since quitting his job, he had moved to Malaysia for business and could arrange a similar, lucrative opportunity for him. “He was told that it would cost ₹5 lakh — 3 lakh upfront and ₹2 lakh later. Vikram gave him ₹1.5 lakh in a bid to move to Dubai. After a short while, Abhinav sent him an offer letter. I saw the letter and told Vikram that it looked forged. When he was contacted, Abhinav made up excuses, stating he was busy in France or Singapore,” said Varun.
Since the move to Dubai did not materialise, Vikram had been asking Abhinav to either arrange a visa for him or return his money. Vikram had shared the details of his conversations with Abhinav with his colleagues, he said.
Shivam Srivastava, another colleague, said that Vikram had taken leave on Wednesday for the meeting with Abhinav. “He generally worked the afternoon shift, from 12.30 to 10.30 pm. He was supposed to meet him on Tuesday but the meeting was postponed by a day. For the past two years, their family had wanted to move abroad. They were stressed after Abhinav started dodging their requests to return the money,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}Shivam Srivastava, another colleague, said that Vikram had taken leave on Wednesday for the meeting with Abhinav. “He generally worked the afternoon shift, from 12.30 to 10.30 pm. He was supposed to meet him on Tuesday but the meeting was postponed by a day. For the past two years, their family had wanted to move abroad. They were stressed after Abhinav started dodging their requests to return the money,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}Neighbours remembered the couple as gentle and affable. “I had never heard any fight between them in the past four years. Both of them always had a smile on their face and helped out whenever approached,” said Raja, who lives in the adjacent building.
Vikram’s younger brother, Shailendra, rued his fate that it was the first time that he had not spent the night at the house. “I feel guilty and responsible. Maybe if I was present at the house, the murder could have been averted,” he said.
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