More details emerge regarding the murder of Kanpur pharma trader Vineet Minocha, who was found dead at his residence in Kalyanpur on Saturday. Kanpur police have arrested Minocha’s daughter-in-law, Shalu, for orchestrating his murder.
As per local media reports, the murder was committed by a former employee, Vishal, on the instructions of Shalu. He told investigators that he committed the crime with his friend, Rajkishore, for ₹30,000 offered by Shalu.
Though robbery was suspected, police later cited family tensions as the motive behind the murder.
Minocha’s body was found in a pool of blood in his residence after his son, daughter-in-law, and grandson returned home. Police then began examining CCTV footage and records of visitors to the flat. The footage showed two men entering the flat. One of them was identified as Vineet's former servant, Vishal, which led to his arrest.
During interrogation, Vishal confessed to police that he had worked for Minocha’s son Subrat for years before losing his job for theft. Though he was unemployed since 2022, Subrat would call him for odd jobs. Vishal, who had accumulated a debt of around Rs 2 lakh, met Shalu when he went to do a chore at Subrat’s house.
Shalu told him about how frustrated she was about her father-in-law’s restrictive behaviour. She said CCTV cameras had been installed in the house and that he monitored her movements. Following this, the two hatched a murder plot. “She gave me one key to the flat and told me to get a duplicate made,” he said, adding that the original key was given to him around 12 days before the murder. She also gave Vishal ₹1,200 to duplicate the key at a local key shop.
Shalu told them she would call the two men to the apartment on the pretext of delivering something. She also allegedly instructed Vishal to give the name ‘Shivam’ to the security guard. After entering the apartment on Saturday night, Vishal and Rajkishore allegedly hid in Shalu’s bedroom. When Minocha entered the room, they allegedly attacked and killed him.
According to Vishal, Minocha switched on the light in Shalu’s bedroom and was shocked to see the men. Vishal claimed Rajkishore pushed Vineet to the floor, after which he attacked him repeatedly with a knife, striking his neck and chest.
Police later questioned Shalu, after which she confessed to the crime.
