Banthra: A recovery agent was murdered in Dadupur, Banthra, allegedly by his employer due to an affair with the employer’s wife. Police, using surveillance, arrested the accused agency owner, Vivek Singh, and his employee, Wasim Ali Khan. The police have recovered blood-stained clothes from the accused and the crowbar used in the murder from a plot. The DCP stated that if evidence is found against Vivek’s wife during the investigation, action will be taken against her as well.
The family of Ashok Shukla, a bus driver from Dhanuapur, Faizabad (Ayodhya), had been living in the New Destin City Colony in Dadupur for four years. His son, Kunal Shukla (26), was a recovery agent who worked for Vivek Singh and often stayed the night at his office. On Tuesday morning, Kunal’s body was found in the office. Based on a report filed by his elder brother Saurabh, the police registered a murder case against an unknown person and began their investigation.
DCP South Nipun Agarwal said that the CCTV cameras and DVR were missing from the crime scene, and the office door was open, which indicated that an acquaintance was involved. When the victim’s mobile phone was found to be missing, the police checked his call records and found several calls to one particular number. The number belonged to Vivek’s wife, which intensified police suspicion. Vivek’s call records also showed a number from the night of the incident. Following this, Inspector Banthra Rana Rajesh Singh and his team arrested Vivek Singh and Wasim Ali Khan, who is a resident of Karimuddinpur, Ghazipur, and currently lives in Gauri, Sarojininagar.
During questioning, Vivek confessed that his wife was having an affair with Kunal. Their frequent phone conversations were causing him public embarrassment. There was also a financial dispute with Kunal. Because of these issues, he conspired to kill Kunal and convinced his employee, Wasim, to carry out the murder by promising to build him a house and offering him money. As part of the plan, Vivek gave Kunal alcohol and let him fall asleep on the night of September 8. At around 9:30 PM, he called Wasim and told him the “coast was clear” and Kunal was sound asleep. When Wasim arrived at the office, he bludgeoned Kunal to death with a crowbar while he was sleeping.
Blood-stained Clothes Washed at a Gravel Plant The accused, Wasim, confessed that after the murder, he went to a nearby gravel plant where Vivek was waiting. Wasim washed the blood-stained clothes there, put them in a plastic bag, and hid them in a jungle. He then threw Kunal’s mobile phone into a nearby drain. The Inspector stated that the accused Vivek had previously been to jail in 2012 for a murder case in the Sarojininagar area. Vivek also had two cases registered against him at the Banthra police station a few months ago for assault, threats, and physical altercation.
