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Son plotted Kanpur pharma trader’s murder, framed wife over property fears: Police
Fear of property transfer to another woman and ₹40 lakh debt allegedly drove Subrat to hire hitmen; police to move court for release of his wife
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KANPUR The 19-day mystery surrounding the murder of 63-year-old pharmaceutical trader Vineet Minocha unraveled on Thursday as police arrested his 35-year-old son, Subrat, for allegedly masterminding the September 5 killing. Police revealed that Subrat not only orchestrated the hit but framed his wife, Shalu, to secure his inheritance and clear mounting personal debts.
The son allegedly conspired to kill his father, fearing that the pharma trader, who reportedly had relationships with several women, might end up transferring his property to some other woman, said police.
Subrat was arrested on Wednesday night and sent to judicial custody on Thursday and subsequently taken to jail. Following his confession, authorities announced they will move court to secure the release of Shalu, 32, who had been previously arrested alongside two alleged contract killers.
Commissioner of police Raghubir Lal said Subrat had allegedly hired his father’s former employee, Vishal, and his associate, Rajkishore, to kill Vineet on September 5. The police will move court seeking Shalu’s release, he said.
The case initially appeared to point towards Shalu after Vishal and Rajkishore, who were arrested on the basis of CCTV footage, told police during questioning that they had carried out the murder at her behest.
Police said the conspiracy came to light through analysis of call detail records (CDRs), CCTV footage, digital and scientific evidence, recoveries and other circumstantial evidence. Officials also found deleted chats between Subrat and Vishal and said their locations had coincided at several points before the murder.
The breakthrough came during a 24-hour remand of Shalu, Vishal and Rajkishore on Wednesday. Shalu and Vishal were confronted with Subrat at Kalyanpur police station. During the questioning, Vishal told police that Subrat had asked him to kill Vineet and promised him ₹6 lakh.
Vishal said Subrat had instructed him to name Shalu if he was arrested after the murder, said police.
Police then questioned Subrat at length. According to the police, he admitted to planning his father’s murder.
Asked why he implicated his wife, Subrat allegedly told police that Shalu and Vishal spoke to each other frequently and that Vishal had visited their house several times. Subrat believed that these links would make it easier for the police to suspect his wife.
According to police, Subrat said his relationship with Shalu was otherwise good and that they only had occasional family disagreements. He also said Shalu had helped him repay his debts by arranging ₹14 lakh from her father, Naresh Arora.
According to police, Subrat was heavily in debt because of his alleged drinking, gambling and betting habits, as well as his extravagant lifestyle. He had taken loans from various banks and had other liabilities through credit cards, taking his total debts to around ₹40 lakh.
Subrat allegedly told police that his father gave him ₹40,000 a month as pocket money, which he considered insufficient for the lifestyle he maintained. He was also required to pay around ₹55,000 every month towards loan EMIs.
The pharma trader’s son also allegedly spoke about an incident in which he suspected his father of touching Shalu inappropriately while they were travelling in a car. However, when police questioned Shalu about it, she denied that Vineet had ever touched her inappropriately.
Police said Subrat had also used his father’s business to raise money to meet his debts. With the help of Vishal, he allegedly arranged the theft of medicines from Vineet’s shop on Birhana road on eight to nine occasions. Vishal would wait outside the shop while Subrat handed him cartons of medicines worth lakhs of rupees, which Vishal later sold, added cops.
Vineet eventually caught Vishal stealing and sacked him following a dispute, they said.
According to Subrat’s alleged confession, he had been planning his father’s murder for around three months. He initially asked Vishal to arrange an accident, but the latter refused. The two then allegedly planned to suffocate Vineet with a pillow, with one man holding his hands and legs while the other pressed the pillow over his face. Rajkishore was subsequently brought into the plan.
Subrat allegedly planned to return home after the murder and claim that his father had died of a heart attack.
On September 5, according to police, Subrat went to a party with Shalu and their son. Vishal and Rajkishore had already hidden inside the flat. When Vineet arrived, he switched on the light in the room where the two men were hiding. He raised an alarm after seeing them.
Police said Vishal then attacked Vineet with a knife and killed him, and the original plan to suffocate him with a pillow was abandoned.
During questioning, police officials put more than 40 questions to the accused and recorded their responses on camera, including their facial expressions and behaviour while answering.
According to officials, Shalu told police that she had not arranged her father-in-law’s murder and that she shared a good relationship with him.
Lal said the investigation had established Subrat’s role as the alleged mastermind and that steps would be taken before the court for Shalu’s release.
