32 km trail hints more at attempt to murder Chennai couple

CHENNAI: A day after a newly married couple from Chennai was shot at by two bike-borne masked men in Uttar Pradesh, the investigators, suspecting it to be a case of attempt to murder, said that the men had followed the couple for more than 32 km. Speaking to Express, Arun Kumar Singh, Deputy Superintendent of Police, Nai Mandi in Muzaffar Nagar in UP, said initial investigations revealed that the couple - Aditya Kumar and Vijaya Lakshmi - had been followed from the UP border.

“It does not look like a case of robbery. We suspect the men to have followed the couple since the time when they entered the State (Uttar Pradesh) from Uttarakhand. The man riding the bike wore a helmet and the pillion-rider had a white handkerchief tied to his face. However, it is too early to come to a conclusion. Only after we nab the suspects we can find the reason,” he added.

He also said the couple are undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Meerut. “The victim Aditya Kumar is recovering and his health is much better than yesterday, while his wife Vijaya Lakshmi is out of danger,” he added.

Police said the couple were hailing from Hyderabad and residing in an apartment at First Main Road in Royala Nagar. “The couple were married in May this year and both work at the L & T company in Nandambakkam in Chennai and reside alone in the city while their family members are settled in  Hydrabed,” said a senior police officer in the city.
Aditya who works as a manager in L & T is also a part of a cricket team in office and was to attend a match in the city on Sunday.

It may be noted that the couple left Chennai for Delhi on June 3.
The couple were accompanied by a person Shyaam Teja. The trio hired two Royal Enfield motorbikes and rode down to Uttarakhand to visit Haridwar. As they were returning towards Delhi on the motorbike to catch a flight to reach Chennai, they were shot at around 4 pm on NH 58 in a stretch which fell under Nai Mandi police station in Muzaffarnagar district.

Shyaam who witnessed the incident alerted the police who rushed to the spot and admitted the couple to the hospital.
A case under IPC section 307 (attempt to murder) has been registered by the Nai Mandi police who are scanning CCTV footage along the stretch to check if the men were following the couple.