UP businessman’s death, daughter-in-law’s grisly plot, and a CCTV trigger - The Indian Express

It was a humid evening in Kanpur on September 5. Subrat Minocha (32) had returned from work; he worked at his father’s pharmacy on Birhana Road, 14 km from his home. Most days, he would be back by 8 pm.

He and his wife, Shalu, lived with their five-year-old son and Subrat’s elderly parents – Vineet (63) and Puneeta (61) in a three-bedroom apartment in the upscale Kalyanpur area of the city.

Vineet was still at work while Puneeta was away in Ghaziabad. Subrat also has a sister, who lives in Gurgaon.

At 9.35 pm, Subrat and Shalu, all dressed up, locked their flat and left. They were heading to a lounge in Tilak Nagar to attend a “kitty party”. They took their son with them.

The couple would organise such parties regularly with a group of more than a dozen other families across the city. These families were among the affluent Kanpur residents and would regularly socialise. This kitty party had been planned almost a week ahead.

Subrat’s flat — C104 — was on the first floor inside the gated compound, Ratan Orbit Apartments. A security guard stood at the entrance, keeping watch round the clock.

At 10.55 pm, Vineet returned home. He had been at his pharmacy since noon. He knew about the kitty party. He knew his son and his family would be away till late.

He wasn’t in the mood to stay up till they returned. He was exhausted after a long day and wanted to go to bed soon. So, he changed his clothes, took out the food kept in the fridge for him and sat for a quick dinner alone.

As he finally headed to his bedroom, he noticed that the door to his son’s room was partially open.

Vineet stopped and entered his son’s room. He switched on the light. Two men were standing inside.

He recognised one of them immediately, demanding to know how he had got into the house. Before he could raise an alarm, the men struck — they allegedly stabbed him 26 times with two knives.

The two assailants left the flat around 11.30 pm.

Nearly five hours later, at 4.20 am, the family returned home. They sat in the guest room before Subrat got up to fetch water from the kitchen. That was when he noticed a trail of blood coming from his room.

He called out to Shalu and rushed in. Vineet was lying in a pool of blood on the floor. They were shocked, Subrat told the police.

It was another 15-20 minutes before Subrat called the police control room to report his father’s murder inside their home.

The police jumped into action. Everyone knew the family. Vineet was among Kanpur’s five leading pharmaceutical businessmen, with a retail and wholesale medicines trade. It was a high-profile case and senior officers were immediately notified.

When a team from Kalyanpur police station, around 3.5 km away, arrived, they found the body near the door of the room. “There were signs of struggle… a few decorative items were scattered around,” said an officer. “It was clear that he had tried to resist but was overpowered.”

Shalu, police said, was distraught, weeping over her father-in-law’s death.

Police secured the crime scene and then scanned the house. They found the murder weapon — a blood-stained vegetable knife – without any hassle.

Initial evidence, however, did not suggest a burglary.

“There was no forced entry and nothing was missing apart from a few items in Subrat’s room. There were no signs that the house had been searched or ransacked,” said the officer.

If burglary wasn’t the motive, why was Vineet attacked? This was the question before the investigators.

The couple told the police that when they returned, they found the main door wasn’t locked and the lights inside the flat were switched off.

The first clue, however, didn’t take too long to arrive. CCTV cameras provided the lead.

Footage from the complex — Ratan Orbit has more than 50 cameras across its campus — and from cameras installed in the house showed two men entering and leaving the flat.

Police learnt that the two intruders had entered the apartment building using a duplicate key only 15 minutes after Subrat and Shalu left. They had been inside, waiting for Vineet to return.

It was already morning and, by then, residents, relatives and employees from Vineet’s shop too had gathered at the apartment.

When CCTV footage was scanned, investigators noticed that the faces of the two intruders were visible. Soon, one of the employees identified a man in the footage as Vishal Gautam, 30.

Vishal had been working at the Minochas’ business till 2021 when he was fired following allegations of theft. No case had been filed against him at the time.

A police party was dispatched to pick up the two men. However, Vishal and Raj had already disappeared. For the next 24 hours, police searched for them across the city. On September 6, around 7.30 pm, they finally tracked the duo to Ratanpur.

There was an ‘encounter’, the police said, and both of them were shot in the leg as they allegedly fired at the police party.

Police said they questioned the duo extensively at the hospital and later at the police station before Vishal finally admitted to the crime. He alleged it was Vineet’s daughter-in-law Shalu, who had hired him to kill Vineet for Rs 6 lakh.

Vishal, who police said needed money to settle a Rs 2 lakh debt, readily agreed to take this job. He recruited Raj, who is unemployed, offering him an advance of Rs 30,000. Both men, residents of Mayuri Mohal in Kanpur, took up odd jobs like electrical work and had no previous criminal record.

Vishal’s links to the family, police said, went beyond being a former employee. While Vineet resented him after he fired him, his son and daughter-in-law didn’t snap contact with him. He would visit the Minocha household, police said, but only when Vineet was away.

On several occasions, police said Vishal claimed Shalu and Subrat had taken him along while shopping, where he carried their bags.

Police then checked the extent of his contact with the family through their call records.

They found regular voice calls and WhatsApp messages between Shalu and Vishal dating back three months. They also found that Subrat had been in touch with Vishal during the same period. After the murder, there were no calls or messages between Shalu and Vishal.

Police began piecing the crime together.

During questioning, Vishal told the police that the murder plot was allegedly hatched by Shalu around 20 days earlier.

The plan, Vishal told police, was to allegedly smother Vineet to death with a pillow while he slept and make it appear like a heart attack.

A week ago, police said, Vishal claimed Shalu had given him the original key to the house and asked him to get a duplicate made. He got it done and returned the original key two days later.

Then, three days before the murder, police said, Shalu allegedly told Vishal about the kitty party and when the family would be away.

It was the perfect alibi for Shalu, an officer said. Twenty-one families, most of them from Kanpur’s business community, were in attendance. Liquor flowed, and a video of the evening’s dance performance later surfaced on social media.

Police said Shalu also allegedly gave instructions to the apartment’s security guard that a man named “Shubham” would come to deliver flowers and a polythene bag and he must not enter the visitor’s details in the register.

Shubham, police said, was Vishal. Police alleged that Shalu used the fake name so his actual entry into the building would not come to light.

Everything was going according to plan until Vineet discovered them while the two men were waiting for him to fall asleep.

Shalu, who is from a business family in Lucknow, married Subrat in 2020 in an arranged marriage. Police said she is a graduate.

Subrat had joined the family business after graduation and had been fully involved in it for around 15 years.

Their investigation, police said, showed Shalu had allegedly been unhappy with Vineet over several issues, especially regarding money.

The last straw, police claimed, was when Vineet installed four CCTV cameras inside the house — in the kitchen, drawing room and lobby — saying they were meant to ensure the family’s safety. Shalu, police claimed, was distressed by the cameras as they stripped her of her privacy.

Police said Shalu, however, has not admitted to the allegations against her.

They questioned Subrat, but he too has denied his involvement and claimed he was unaware of the plan.

No direct evidence has been found against him, police said.

The three accused were produced before a court and remanded in judicial custody, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Kanpur, SM Qasim Abidi, said.