A divorce petition and allegations of “betrayal” have emerged as key factors in Thursday’s triple shooting in Lucknow’s Gomti Nagar, where a man allegedly shot dead his estranged wife and sister before turning the gun on himself.
The woman has been identified as Divya Mishra, a relationship manager at ICICI Bank. Her sister, journalist and YouTuber Pragya Mishra, who has over 8.53 million subscribers, has now shared disturbing details about the couple’s married life. She alleged that the accused, Manas Bajpayee, was abusive towards Divya and had stalked her in the past.
‘Beat her over a rotten tomato’
Calling Bajpayee a “Psycho”, Mishra alleged that he would assault Divya over trivial matters.
Deep Dive
What were the allegations made by Pragya Mishra regarding her sister's marriage?
Why did Divya Mishra file for divorce from Manas Bajpayee?
How did the events of the shooting unfold on the day of the incident?
“If a tomato from the ones ordered on Blinkit turned out bad, he would beat her, saying, ‘How did you order on Blinkit that the tomato turned out bad?’,” she said in a lengthy post on X.
Mishra also alleged that Bajpayee had laid down conditions on their wedding night, including sharing household expenses equally.
“My sister had told me that on the wedding night, the murderer had made a list of household expenses and put the condition of sharing half the costs. Which my sister had happily accepted. Divya had stopped bearing her share of the expenses for the past year. In the eyes of the psycho murderer, this could be cheating,” she said.
{{/usCountry}}“My sister had told me that on the wedding night, the murderer had made a list of household expenses and put the condition of sharing half the costs. Which my sister had happily accepted. Divya had stopped bearing her share of the expenses for the past year. In the eyes of the psycho murderer, this could be cheating,” she said.
{{/usCountry}}According to Mishra, Divya had wanted to end the marriage and separate from Bajpayee. She also claimed that there had been an altercation involving the couple and a counsellor at family court.
“According to my sister, the murderer and his sister had beaten their mother so much that his own ailing mother had passed away. Divya just wanted to separate from the murderer. My sister had told me that there had been a scuffle with the counselor even in family court.”
Divya ‘wanted everything to be okay’
Mishra said Divya had continued observing Teej and had not removed a tattoo bearing Bajpayee’s name, suggesting that she still hoped their relationship could be repaired.
“Deep down, she wanted everything to be okay,” Mishra said.
She also alleged that Bajpayee had stalked Divya previously and that the stress had taken a toll on her.
“The murderer had stalked Divya before too. Due to stress, she had an accident a few days ago. Her hand and leg were broken. A month and a half to two months later, she had started going to the office. She was still walking with a limp,” Mishra wrote.
Sister responds to WhatsApp status
After the shooting, Bajpayee allegedly posted a WhatsApp status accusing Divya of “betrayal” and claimed that Pragya Mishra and her husband, Bharat Yadav, knew about it. Police have said they are still verifying the message.
Responding to the reference to her name, Mishra said she knew about Bajpayee’s alleged behaviour towards her sister but not about any supposed “betrayal”.
“The murderer has written my name in his status saying that I knew everything. Yes, I knew that the murderer used to be cruel to my sister. That's why she wanted to separate from him.”
Mishra also said she had not yet told her mother about Divya’s death.
“I still haven't mustered the courage to tell Mom. I've lied that Divya's condition is critical and put her to sleep beside me,” she said.
How the double murder unfolded
The shooting unfolded on Thursday afternoon when Bajpayee allegedly waited near Divya’s workplace in an auto-rickshaw, as reported by HT earlier.
Police said the 33-year-old bank employee arrived at the Gomti Nagar branch around 12.05 pm in her car with a colleague. Bajpayee allegedly approached her, asked her to step out and assaulted her before shooting her. He then fled the spot in his car.
Deputy commissioner of police (east) Deeksha Sharma, who reached the bank after the incident, said Divya had been working at the branch for three to four years.
Police said Bajpayee later reached his home in Husadiya and put up the alleged WhatsApp status. Investigators subsequently traced him to the residence, where he allegedly shot his sister before turning the gun on himself.
Police said Bajpayee and Divya had been living separately since November 2025. Divya had also filed for divorce in a family court, seeking compensation and the return of dowry given during the marriage.