UP Trader's Son Arrested in Murder; Killer Alleges He Was Told to Name Wife

Police in Uttar Pradesh have arrested the son of a pharmaceutical dealer in connection with the trader's murder earlier this month, with investigators piecing together the sequence of events from call records, digital evidence and a confrontation between the accused.

Subrat Manocha was taken into custody on Thursday, days after the killing of his father, Vineet Manocha, 60, who was stabbed to death at his Ratan Orbit apartment in Kalyanpur on September 5. The Commissioner of Police, Raghubir Lal, said Subrat would be produced before the court concerned.

The arrest followed a confrontation between Subrat and Vishal Gautam, the alleged contract killer, during the 24-hour custody remand of Vishal, his associate Rajkishore and Subrat's wife Shalu.

According to the police, Vishal told investigators that Subrat had asked him to kill his father and had promised him Rs 6 lakh. Vishal also claimed that Subrat had instructed him to name Shalu if he was caught. The police are verifying these allegations against call records and other digital and circumstantial evidence. The commissioner said Subrat had not confessed to the murder.

Investigators found that Vishal had obtained a new SIM card a couple of days before the murder and made his first call from that number to Subrat. Subrat, Shalu and Vishal were questioned in several rounds on Wednesday night.

During one confrontation, Shalu allegedly broke down and told the police that she had been implicated to protect Subrat. The police said they are continuing to verify the claims made by both sides.

Shalu and the alleged contract killers, Vishal and Rajkishore, were arrested on September 6, a day after the murder. The investigation initially focused on Shalu, while Subrat remained under suspicion and was detained and questioned at length before his arrest. More than 100 questions were prepared as investigators examined the accused over their movements, phone calls, financial transactions and other links.

As part of the remand proceedings, Vishal was taken to Ratan Orbit, where he allegedly threw a key while fleeing after the murder. The police said the key was recovered from an empty plot adjoining the apartment complex. Rajkishore was taken to Kanpur Central railway station, where the police claimed to have recovered his blood-stained trousers and a black scarf from behind a public toilet on his pointing-out.

The 24-hour custody remand of Shalu, Vishal and Rajkishore ends at noon on Thursday, after which they are scheduled to be taken back to jail following a medical examination.