The focus is now on the possible motive in the chilling Lucknow drum murder case, where Akshat Pratap Singh, 21, killed his father, Manvendra Singh, chopped his body and dumped it in different parts of the city to evade crime.
On the night of February 19, Manvendra Singh, 49, allegedly returned home to discover that ₹50 lakh in cash was missing.
When he confronted his son, Akshat, he learned that the money had purportedly been taken for a liquor contract, whose online application deadline was set to expire on February 23, a neighbour claimed.
The confrontation soon escalated into a heated argument, during which Manvendra, enraged, allegedly slapped Akshat and pointed a rifle at him, according to an NDTV report.
Hours later, Akshat entered his father’s room at around 4 am, taking the rifle, and shooting him while he was asleep. He then allegedly shifted the body from the third floor of the family home to a vacant room on the ground floor, where he used a machine to dismember it, the report added.
Accused’s remarks on patricide
The accused, Akshat, told reporters on Wednesday, “Galti se ho gaya” (it happened by mistake).
Police said the accused confessed during interrogation that he shot his father following an argument and later attempted to destroy evidence by dismembering the body, HT earlier reported.
This comes after several angles about the ‘unusual calm’ of his siblings, sour relations in the family and pressure of NEET exams had been investigated in the police in the past few days.
He was also asked about possible accomplices and motives. When questioned about whether his younger sister had any role, Singh shook his head in denial. He, however, remained silent when asked about his aunt’s alleged involvement.
Akshat did not respond to queries on whether pressure related to the NEET examination was a factor behind the killing.
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What happened?
According to investigators, Singh allegedly shot dead his father, Manvendra Singh, 49, on February 20 during a heated dispute. Police claim he then cut the body into pieces in an attempt to eliminate evidence, disposing of the remains at multiple locations.
The investigation so far indicates that Singh spent three days, until February 23, attempting to conceal the crime before police uncovered inconsistencies in his account. Officials said evidence was recovered from five locations across the city.
Earlier reports detailed how the accused allegedly threatened his sister to remain silent and attempted to mislead investigators by filing a missing person complaint for his father. Police also allege that he purchased paint to cover bloodstains, sprayed room fresheners to mask the odour, and used his father’s car to dispose of body parts.
On February 23, Akshat submitted written information about his father’s “disappearance,” on the basis of which a missing case was registered. Acting promptly, sub-inspector Agrahari Yadav of Ashiana police station questioned Singh.