Three days after a 23-year-old female college student was allegedly shot dead by her friend at his rented flat in Dayal Residency at Faizabad road under Chinhat police here, police on Sunday arrested Aditya Shukla, 24, who had been at large after hiding the pistol used in the killing of Nishtha Tripathi on September 21.
“The accused has been booked under Indian Penal Code sections 302 (murder) and 201 (causing disappearance of weapon),” said assistant commissioner of police (ACP), Vibhuti Khand, AV Singh. This was the second arrest in the case. The police had nabbed the prime accused Aditya Pathak, 27, a resident of Ballia, soon after the crime.
The police had then revealed that Aditya, a property dealer with a criminal record, had recently obtained bail in an extortion case. Nishtha Tripathi was originally from Hardoi district. She was pursuing a BCom (Honours) degree from Babu Banarasi Das (BBD) college in Lucknow.
“Aditya Shukla, an engineering student and a resident of Deoria, was present with prime accused Aditya Pathak at the latter’s residence on the night of the murder. After the murder, he hid the weapon near bushes on gate no 6 of Janeshwar Mishra Park. It was later recovered by police,” said station house officer, Chinhat police station, Alok Kumar Rao.
The police said during the interrogation, Shukla claimed that he was sleeping when he heard a gunshot at 3:30 am on September 21. Soon, he ran to Aditya Pathak’s room and found Nishtha lying in a pool of blood. As per him, his other peers Monu Gautam and Abhishek Nayak were also there at the time of the incident.
{{/usCountry}}The police said during the interrogation, Shukla claimed that he was sleeping when he heard a gunshot at 3:30 am on September 21. Soon, he ran to Aditya Pathak’s room and found Nishtha lying in a pool of blood. As per him, his other peers Monu Gautam and Abhishek Nayak were also there at the time of the incident.
{{/usCountry}}The police said that Aditya Shukla told them that prime accused Aditya Pathak had asked everyone to go to the hospital following the incident. I was asked to hide the pistol. After she was declared dead at the hospital, Aditya told us to tell others that Nishtha had committed suicide, Shukla told the police.
Shukla also claimed that he had no involvement in the murder and that he only hid the pistol. He also told the police he did not have any idea whether Aditya Pathak shot the college student or it was an accidental firing. “While Aditya Pathak and Aditya Shulka have been arrested, police are questioning Monu Gautam and Abhishek Nayak and no evidence has been found against them,” the ACP said.
The roles of weapon provider Asif, who is in jail, and his friend Akhand Pratap Singh are also being investigated. As per the police, both are history sheeters. Aditya Pathak had told police that the duo had hidden their weapon with him three months back.
“The police will soon interrogate him after taking permission from the court. The role of his associate Akhand Pratap Singh is also being investigated,” the ACP said.
Even though police had earlier said that the victim and the accused had become friends on Instagram a few days ago, the victim’s family did not agree with the police claim.
“My daughter was not a friend of Aditya. It is a planned murder. It is being claimed that she was drinking with others at the party but the post-mortem report does not mention trace of alcohol in her body,” claimed Nishtha’s father Santosh Tripathi, 48, over the phone from Hardoi.