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Kanpur pharma trader’s murder: Accused names son; key, blood-stained clothes recovered
Police sources associated with the investigation said Vishal Gautam named Subrat during questioning and alleged that he had asked the accused to commit the murder. Subrat was subsequently confronted with Vishal, Raj Kishore and his wife Shalu. Investigators said he struggled to answer some of the questions put to him during the confrontation.
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Seventeen days after pharmaceutical trader Vineet Minocha, 63, was murdered, police claimed to have made three key breakthroughs during the custodial interrogation of the accused. Former employee Vishal Gautam has allegedly named Minocha’s son Subrat as the person who asked the accused to carry out the murder; the duplicate key to the flat has been recovered from an open plot; and blood-stained clothes allegedly worn by accused Raj Kishore have been recovered from Kanpur Central.
Police sources associated with the investigation said Vishal Gautam named Subrat during questioning and alleged that he had asked the accused to commit the murder. Subrat was subsequently confronted with Vishal, Raj Kishore and his wife Shalu. Investigators said he struggled to answer some of the questions put to him during the confrontation.
“The questioning of all four is going on and Subrat’s role is being examined in the case,” a source associated with the investigation said.
Vishal had earlier named Shalu as the main conspirator in the murder. Police are now examining the alleged roles of both Shalu and Subrat and matching their statements with call records and other electronic evidence collected during the investigation.
Police also recovered the duplicate key allegedly used to enter the flat where Minocha was murdered. Investigators said Vishal had thrown the key into an open plot near Ratan Orbit apartment while fleeing with Raj Kishore after the killing. The plot was searched in the presence of the accused and the key was subsequently recovered.
The recovery is significant as the whereabouts of the duplicate key had remained unclear. Shalu had given different versions during questioning about where it was made, first saying Gumti and later claiming that it was made in Parade.
Police are also reconstructing the sequence leading up to the murder. On Wednesday, after obtaining 24-hour police custody of Shalu, Vishal and Raj Kishore, investigators took Shalu and Vishal to a mall in Parade where, according to police, she had gone shopping with Vishal before the murder. The team will also take the accused to the shop where the duplicate key was allegedly made.
The third recovery came after Raj Kishore led investigators to Kanpur Central. Police said he had hidden the clothes he was wearing after the murder there. The blood-stained clothes were recovered after Raj Kishore pointed out the place where they had been concealed.
The three accused were taken out of district jail around noon on Wednesday after a court granted them 24-hour police custody remand. Shalu was taken in a private car, while Vishal and Raj Kishore were taken in a police vehicle. She kept her face covered with her dupatta.
The accused were first taken to Kalyanpur police station, where they were questioned for around 30 minutes. Vishal and Raj Kishore were later questioned at the reserve police lines.
Police are expected to confront the four — Shalu, Vishal, Raj Kishore and Subrat — again on the basis of the evidence recovered during the remand. Investigators are also examining whether any fourth person was involved in facilitating the murder.
Minocha was murdered at his flat in Indiranagar on September 5. His body was found with 26 stab wounds. Police are investigating the alleged payment of ₹6 lakh for the killing.
Vishal’s and Subrat’s role has been under scrutiny since the beginning of the investigation.
Investigators are also questioning Shalu about the alleged connection of Subrat’s Canadian friend, who lives in Dehradun.
Commissioner of police Raghubir Lal said the investigation was continuing and that the evidence recovered during the remand was being examined along with the statements of the accused and other material collected by the police.
Police are matching the recoveries and statements with CDRs and electronic evidence to establish the sequence of the murder and the alleged role of each person involved, he added.
