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Kin, friends reject ‘NEET pressure’ theory in blue drum murder
“Akshat lying to police about killing his father over pressure to pursue NEET; it was an old discussion and had subsided over time,” says Surendra Pal Singh Rajawat, deceased’s father
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LUCKNOW A day after the police claimed that the accused, Akshat Singh, confessed about his father, Manvendra Singh, constantly pressuring him to pursue NEET against his MBA and business ambitions, relatives, friends and close neighbours of the Singh family outrightly rejected the claims.
HT spoke to many of them at their house in Ashiana Sector L and outside the post-mortem house of KGMU on Tuesday. They said they were not convinced with “NEET theory” and opined that such a brutal act can’t be a fallout of a mere career choice.
“Don’t know the exact reason...but Akshat is lying to the police about killing his father over pressure to pursue NEET. It was an old discussion and had subsided over time,” said Surendra Pal Singh Rajawat, the deceased’s father, who was in Jalaun at the time of the incident and came to Lucknow on Monday.
“He was already preparing for NEET at a renowned institute after completing school but dropped in between and started pursuing BBA. His father also advised him to run his pathology business. Manvendra was a friend and he never pressured his son for anything...he even said that his son could do whatever he wanted. Someone may have been triggering Akshat against his father,” said MP Singh, a lecturer at Kendriya Vidyalaya.
‘Fled with money to become bigger bizman’
Anil Saxena, another friend of the deceased, said three years ago Akshat’s father Manvendra transferred ₹5 lakh into his account. But after a few days, Akshat locked him in a room of the house and vanished. He was found at Kanpur railway station by the police. On asking why he left home after locking his father, the youngster replied that he wanted to be a “big businessman”, unlike his father who is still a “small businessman”.
The deceased’s friends also informed that Akshat always kept track of his father’s live location, trying to find out where he was sitting, how long he stayed at the place and with whom he was.
