E-rickshaw driver murdered by men he hired to kill mother: Police

Vinayak, 23, was allegedly killed by the same men whom he wanted to hire to execute the murders of his mother Shanti Sahu and her partner Imran, said police

The e-rickshaw driver whose body was found on Kisan Path on Thursday morning was allegedly killed when he and four others were plotting two murders, police investigators said on Friday.

Police brief media about the four men who were arrested for the murder of Vinayak Sahu.

Vinayak Sahu, 23, was allegedly killed by the same men whom he wanted to hire to execute the murders of his mother Shanti Sahu and her partner Imran, said deputy commissioner of police (East) Shashank Singh. While Vinayak had promised the other men ₹2.5 lakh and his e-rickshaw as payment, a scuffle took place between them when he refused to pay them ₹1.5 lakh as advance amount, police said after interrogating the four men, who were also Vinayak’s friends.

The body of Vinayak, who also worked as a real estate agent, was found with its throat slit and one Shivam Rawat was found unconscious near Daluna village under PGI police station limits. A knife and liquor bottles were also discovered at the spot.

He added it was learnt that Vinayak and his father Anjani Sahu had talked about hiring some men to kill the latter’s wife Shanti Sahu and her partner Imran 10 days ago.

They were angry with Shanti as she had left Anjani for Imran. “On the night of the incident, Vinayak refused to give Rs. 1.50 lakh as advance money to the accused. This resulted in a fight between them. Also, the accused were intoxicated when they stabbed Vinayak Sahu in the neck with a knife,” said Lucknow police. All but Shivam Rawat, who was heavily drunk, fled the spot.

Father also involved?

According to police sources, Anjani, the deceased man’s father, has multiple cases lodged against him and had also gone to jail. “After his son’s death, he gave a complaint to police himself. While the four accused have taken Anjani’s name, we are still probing his involvement,” said the DCP to HT.

The DCP said at the crime scene, a blood-stained knife and towel, and a broken bottle of liquor were found. After registering a murder case, teams were formed who caught the four accused from near Omaxe Metro City Under Pass (Kisan Path).