It was an usual night at Cosmogin Lounge in Kanpur. The speakers were loud. The disco lights flickered. And the DJ belted out Hindi classics.
What’s the link? A phone call, the police say. The police say a former house help executed the killing. The mastermind, they claim, was Shalu, who would later pretend to be unaware of the crime. On that evening, when the murder was taking place at her home, she was partying with her friends, police say. But she was aware of everything that went on back home. The police claim Shalu had left home after plotting the murder, but she remained in touch with the killer via phone. She kept guiding them during the murder, they add. The police are now checking the timeline of the party, scanning CCTV footage, their phone call details and conversations between the suspects as an important part of the murder probe. The party, they suspect, was part of Shalu’s strategy to hide her role in the murder conspiracy. Vishal, a former employee of the family, and his associate Raj Kishore were the firsts to be arrested in connection with the murder.
The 63-year-old businessman was stabbed 26 times at his home in Kanpur. Taked into custody, the 36-year-old woman initially tried to fake innocence but later admitted her involvement in the murder allegedly out of deep resentment over not allowing late-night parties and constant surveillance.
She claimed her father-in-law closely monitored activities inside the house through CCTV cameras and objected to her attending late-night parties or returning home late. Despite being from a wealthy family, she claimed that she had little control over household spending and had to ask her father-in-law even for minor expenses.
