Grief over a mother’s murder, a slap on a busy road, and a few words of alleged abuse during a road rage confrontation, it took just these three triggers for two brothers to allegedly plot and execute the shooting of 60-year-old honorary flight lieutenant in the IAF, Awadhesh Kumar Pathak, outside his Lucknow cloud kitchen on January 30. The two, identified as Durgesh Mishra, 31, and Amit Mishra, 24, were arrested on Thursday.
Deputy commissioner of police (South) Nipun Agarwal told reporters that during interrogation, Amit revealed his mother was murdered in 2020 in Amethi, a case that left a deep emotional scar on him. On November 28, 2025, he allegedly got into a confrontation with Pathak near Arjunganj after his motorcycle stalled while overtaking Pathak’s car, which bore an Air Force sticker. Amit alleged he was abused in English and slapped during the altercation, and began harbouring resentment against Pathak.
On January 30, the brothers had come to the Ansal complex for a job-related visit when they allegedly spotted Pathak arriving at his cloud kitchen, which he had opened in May 2025. They allegedly decided to confront him that very night. Around 10 pm, as Pathak was about to get into his car, one of the accused allegedly approached him on the pretext of asking about a shop. Moments later, the second accused ran up and fired at him with a country-made .315 bore pistol, said ADCP Vasanth Rallapalli. The brothers then fled on their motorcycle, which was later recovered by police.
Police said the pistol was procured by Amit from an acquaintance after his mother’s death, allegedly intended for use against her murderer. Amit holds a BA in Political Science from Aligarh and runs an online vegetable business. Durgesh studied until Class 8 and does farming.
{{/usCountry}}Police said the pistol was procured by Amit from an acquaintance after his mother’s death, allegedly intended for use against her murderer. Amit holds a BA in Political Science from Aligarh and runs an online vegetable business. Durgesh studied until Class 8 and does farming.
{{/usCountry}}DCP Agarwal formed eight teams and roped in the surveillance cell after the incident. Investigators examined footage from 300 CCTV cameras installed at the shopping complex and surrounding roads, and questioned shopkeepers before zeroing in on the two brothers.
Police have announced a cash reward of ₹25,000 for the team involved in the arrest. An investigation into the source of the illegal weapon is underway.
Pathak is currently stable and undergoing recovery, the DCP said.