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Man shoots wife outside bank, kills sister at home, ends life
Accused uploaded WhatsApp status in which he purportedly confessed to killing his wife,saying she had “betrayed” him, say police
LUCKNOW In a shocking incident that rocked the posh Gomti Nagar area here on Thursday afternoon, a 37-year-old bank employee allegedly shot dead his estranged 33-year-old wife, also a banker, outside her office in broad daylight. Following the brutal attack, the man returned to his residence at Husadiya crossing, approximately 2km from the spot, where he murdered his specially-abled sister before killing himself, said police.
The first incident happened barely a kilometre from Gomti Nagar police station around 12:15pm in the service lane outside the ICICI Bank (Gomti Nagar branch), where the woman, identified as Divya Mishra, worked as a relationship manager.
According to police, Divya was in her car when her husband, Manas Bajpai, who was allegedly waiting in an autorickshaw, called her outside and shot her before fleeing the spot. The accused, said to be an SBI assistant manager posted with regional business office, was reportedly experiencing marital discord with his wife.
DCP (east) Deeksha Sharma, who reached the bank following the incident, said the woman had worked there for the past three or four years. “The deceased woman’s co-workers at the bank identified the attacker as her husband,” said the officer.
Police said the accused was subsequently traced to the Husadiya area in Gomti Nagar, where he allegedly also shot his sister Sheeba Bajpai before allegedly turning the weapon on himself.
Commissioner of police Tarun Gauba also reached the crime scene and took stock of the situation. Police officials said the investigation was underway and forensic teams were examining evidence from the spots linked to the shootings.
Divya’s brother, Mayan Dixit, present at the Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital mortuary, alleged that after killing her, Manas posted a WhatsApp status claiming responsibility and referencing intent to harm himself and others.
In the WhatsApp status posted before his death, Manas alleged that he had killed his wife because she had “betrayed” him. He further wrote that he intended to kill himself and his sister, and claimed that Divya’s sister Pragya and her husband Bharat Yadav knew everything about the matter.
Manas’s tenant Luv Kush, who runs a rented restaurant from the premises (Mans’s house) for nearly a decade, told media persons that he saw him rushing into the residence, profusely sweating, apparently after the shooting near the bank. “I even asked him – ‘Bhaiyya, what’s the matter, you appear stressed’. But he told me that it was nothing, just some office issues. Then he went inside,” he added.
“CCTV footages are being checked to piece together the sequence of events. We have sent the bodies for post-mortem examination and further investigation is underway,” said the DCP (east).
The couple had married around 10 years back and were in an estranged relationship for nearly 3-4 years. The couple had reportedly filed a divorce petition recently. Neighbours said there was no one in Manas’s family except his sister.
According to neighbours, the man killed his sister as she was mentally unstable. “He thought that after his death, there would be no one to take care of her, so he decided to kill her,” said Luv Kush.
Captured on cam: Banker assaulting wife
A CCTV footage of Divya Mishra being assaulted outside the bank purportedly showed the accused, Manas Bajpai, attacking her before firing at her and fleeing. The incident was captured by one of the cameras installed at the bank. While most of the cameras were positioned towards the interior of the premises, one camera facing the road recorded the confrontation outside.
According to the footage, Divya was entering the bank around 12.20pm on Thursday when Manas stopped her outside the premises and allegedly began assaulting her. A bank guard and other employees rushed towards the couple after noticing the altercation.
As the gunshot was fired, the guard and other employees moved away. The accused fled the spot while the bank staff approached Divya.
