LUCKNOW: A BJP worker was found shot dead at the residence of the son of Union Minister of State for Housing and Urban Affairs, Kaushal Kishore, in the old Lucknow area.
The murder took place sometime between 2 am to 2.50 am on Friday, police said.
The victim has been identified by the police as Vinay Srivastava, 30. He was also a close aide of the minister’s son Vikas Kishore. The weapon used to shoot the victim was a licensed .32 bore pistol belonging to Kishore
The weapon has been recovered from the spot by the police.
Lucknow Deputy Commissioner of Police Rahul Raj claimed that a preliminary inquiry revealed that six people namely, Ankit Verma, Ajay Rawat, Shamim alias Baba, Saurabh Rawat and Arun Pratap Singh alias Bunty had come to the house Thursday night and they had dinner together. They also consumed alcohol before starting to play cards. During the course of the gambling, a scuffle ensued between Vinay (the victim) and Ankit to whom Vinay had lost Rs 12,000. Following this, Ankit, Ajay and Shamir stopped the game and Saurabh Rawat along with Bunty went away with the amount won in the game. This infuriated Vinay resulting in the fight among all four. In the scuffle, Vinay’s shirt was torn. As the fight intensified, Ankit took out the pistol of Vikas Kishore from under the pillow kept on the bed and caught hold of Vinay with the help of Ajay and Shamim. He then shot Vinay on his head leaving him dead on the spot.
“A .32 bore pistol recovered from the spot is said to belong to Vikas Kishore. CCTV footage from cameras installed in the house corroborated the sequence of the incident,” said the police statement.
Three persons, Ankit Verma, Ajay Rawat and Shamim were arrested by the Lucknow police in connection with the murder.
The arrests were made after a named FIR was lodged under Section 302 of IPC against them on the basis of the complaint given by the family of the victim.
Meanwhile, Kaushal Kishore, who is a BJP MP from Mohanlalganj parliamentary constituency claimed that his son Vikas Kishore had gone to Delhi an evening before the murder and that he was not present in the house at the time Vinay was shot dead.
Kishore while talking to media persons said that he had informed the police commissioner after coming to know about the incident early in the morning. “Investigation is on, and the truth will come out,” he added confirming that Vinay Srivastava was associated with them since 2017.
On being asked about the recovery of the pistol belonging to Vikas, the minister admitted it saying it was licensed for Lucknow only and could not be taken elsewhere. “Even at the airport, he (Vikas) could not have carried the weapon so whenever he used to travel, he would leave the pistol back at home,” said the minister.
Meanwhile, family members of the deceased said that he was a close associate of Vikas and alleged that it was a pre-planned murder.
The victim’s brother Vikas Srivastava pointed the finger of suspicion at Vikas Kaushal. “Vikas Kishore used to take my brother with him wherever he goes. But he did not take my brother to Delhi with him and also did not take his pistol (with him). This shows there was some planning. My brother could not kill himself,” said a distraught Srivastava.