Lucknow: Three people have been arrested in connection with the killing of a 30-year-old man who was allegedly shot dead at a house reportedly belonging to Union minister Kaushal Kishore in Lucknow’s Dubagga area on the intervening night of 31 August and 1 September.

The victim, Vinay Srivastava, was an aide of Kishore’s son, Vikas Kishore, and was shot using a licensed pistol belonging to the latter, police said. According to police, the three — Ajay Rawat, Ankit Verma and Shamim alias Baba — have confessed to the murder and said a fight had broken out while they were gambling and drinking at the house. 

Speaking to mediapersons, Kaushal Kishore — Union minister of state for housing and urban affairs and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP from Lucknow’s Mohanlalganj (SC) constituency — said his son was away in Delhi at the time of the incident. He added that his family had known the deceased since 2017.

Police have lodged an FIR against the three accused under IPC Section 302 (murder) on a complaint from the victim’s brother, Vikas Srivastava. ThePrint has a copy of the FIR.

Addressing the media Friday evening, Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) Akash Kulhari, when asked who had fired the gunshot at Srivastava, said it was being investigated. Deputy Commissioner of Police (West) Rahul Raj said that since Vikas Kishore’s pistol, which he had left at the spot, was used in the killing, the police would recommend to the district magistrate that his licence be cancelled.

Srivastava’s family, however, alleged that they had not been shown any playing cards or liquor bottles that were recovered from the spot. They also questioned why Vikas Kishore, who had gone to Delhi, did not take his pistol with him.

“My son was shot at with the pistol of the minister’s son. Why did he not carry it with him? He used to keep Vinay with him all through,” said the victim’s mother, Chhaya Srivastava. 

ThePrint reached Kulhari and Raj via phone calls and text messages in connection with the family’s allegations. This report will be updated once a response is received.

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Sequence of events

According to reports, the land on which the house is built belongs to Kaushal Kishore.
The house, which ThePrint visited Friday, has a placard of a dance academy that’s hosted there.

According to police, between 2 am and 2.50 am on 1 September, a total of six persons — Srivastava and the three accused, along with two others identified as Saurabh Pratap Singh and Arun Pratap Singh alias Bunty — had gathered at the house and were drinking before they started to gamble.

“The deceased, Vinay, lost about Rs 12,000 in gambling and after some time, the game stopped at the behest of Ajay, Ankit and Shamim. Saurabh and Bunty left the spot after taking all the money they had won,” Kulhari told the media.

Kulhari added that Srivastava was upset with the three accused, blaming them for his loss and accusing them of deliberately stopping the game.

According to a police statement, the accused were angered by the allegation and began assaulting Srivastava.

“When his shirt was torn, Vinay got agitated and accused the trio of ganging up against him and called them his enemies. As the fight snowballed, Ankit took out the pistol kept under a pillow lying on the bed and the trio overpowered Vinay and killed him,” the statement added.

Family alleges coverup

Following the complaint Friday morning, the victim’s family and local residents blocked traffic on the Ring Road after Srivastava’s body was brought back from the postmortem house. It was a few hours later, at a press conference conducted at 7 pm, that police said they had arrested the three accused.

According to the victim’s family, Srivastava used to accompany Vikas Kishore to various events and often stayed overnight at his house along with three friends —  Rawat, Verma and Shamim.

On Thursday, he left his home at around 11 am and did not return, said his mother, Chhaya Srivastava. His brother, Vikas Srivastava, received a call from Verma around 4 am Friday, telling him that Vinay was dead.

“My elder son, Vikas, called him at around 11 pm, when Vinay told him he would return home soon, but did not return. At around 4 am, Vikas received a call from one of the three men who were present in the house, informing him about the death,” the mother said.

Vikas said, “When I reached the spot, my brother was seen lying on the floor in one of the rooms in the minister’s house. His body was lying shirtless in a pool of blood. He had been shot in the middle of the head.”  

Chhaya said her son had been beaten up before his death. “He had been assaulted. His shirt was torn and its buttons lay on the floor. His watch was found in one of the flower pots on the terrace. He was murdered.”

According to Vikas, when he reached the spot, Verma told him his brother had committed suicide. However, the position of the body and the depth of the bullet wound made the family suspicious.

“The bullet had pierced through his head. It is a clear case of murder,” said Sarika Singh, one of the neighbours who accompanied Chhaya to the spot.

Vikas further alleged that, while the CCTV cameras installed in the room near the entrance and the gate of the house were functioning, the camera inside the room where the incident took place was not working.

Moreover, Vikas claimed that when he went to the spot, he did not see any evidence of gambling or alcohol at the scene.

“The police are trying to cover up something. Two CCTV cameras were working but the one in the room where the murder happened was not working. We suspect that Bunty and Saurabh may have something to do with it because there was a land dispute with Bunty,” Vikas alleged. 

(Edited by Richa Mishra)

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