Kanpur, Sep 22 Police will intensively question the three accused held in connection with the alleged killing of pharmaceutical trader Vineet Manocha during their 24-hour custody, with investigators preparing a list of around 100 questions and planning cross-questioning with the victim’s son to establish his role in the case, an official said on Tuesday.
A court has granted police a 24-hour custody of Manocha’s daughter-in-law Shalu, former employee Vishal Gautam and his associate, Rajkishore.
Manocha’s body, with his throat slit, was found from his flat in the upscale Indira Nagar area in Uttar Pradesh’s Kanpur, with police suspecting the involvement of his domestic help and another accomplice in his alleged killing.
Manocha was found lying in a pool of blood in his C-104 flat at Ratan Orbit apartments on September 5. At the time of his alleged killing, the victim was alone at home, while his son, Subrat, had gone to a party with his wife.
Gautam, Rajkishore and Shalu were subsequently arrested in connection with the case.
“The three will be taken from the jail at noon on Wednesday and returned to judicial custody at noon on Thursday after a medical examination. During their remand, police are likely to confront Shalu, Gautam and Rajkishore with Subrat, and conduct cross-questioning to verify their statements and establish whether there were discrepancies in their accounts,” Commissioner of Police Raghubir Lal told PTI.
“We will try to resolve all unanswered questions, establish the missing links and make every effort to successfully unravel the case,” he added.
Nearly half-a-dozen police teams are working on the case, with investigators preparing a detailed questionnaire covering the accused, their links and the sequence of events before and after the alleged killing.
Police will examine the call detail records of Shalu, Subrat, Gautam and Rajkishore, including the alleged purchase of a new SIM card by Gautam a few days before the alleged killing and its subsequent deactivation.
Police will also look into the phone calls exchanged between the accused and their contacts with Shalu and Subrat, Lal said.
“A major focus will be the duplicate key allegedly used in the crime. We will question the accused about where and how the key was made, who arranged it and how it was subsequently used,” the police commissioner added.
Police are also expected to take the accused to the Z Square mall to verify the sequence of events preceding the alleged making of the duplicate key, said an official pleading anonymity.
Police have learnt that Gautam, Shalu and Subrat had visited the mall, with Subrat allegedly remaining in the car.
Investigators will question the accused about Shalu’s and Subrat’s equation with Manocha, their relations with other family members and financial dealings, including loans and money allegedly owed to or received from others.
They will also look into alleged disputes within the family.
Lal said the accused could be taken to any location that emerges as relevant during their questioning.
“The effort will be to use the 24-hour police custody in such a way that all the links are connected and a convincing theory of the case is established,” he said.
Police are continuing to examine the roles of Shalu, Gautam and Rajkishore, while Subrat remains under scrutiny in the case.
(PTI News)
