Lawyer masterminds murder of old couple, lures sons to kill parents for shops

A lawyer allegedly masterminded the murder of a couple after fraudulently acquiring their three shops and luring their three sons into killing their parents after promising them gifts and cash in Uttar Pradesh's Shravasti district, police said on Friday.

All four accused have been arrested for murdering Roshan Khan (80) and his wife Waseela (60) on the intervening night of November 22 and 23.

Superintendent of Police Rahul Bhati said while Khan's body was found inside their house in Kamba Pokhar village, his wife's body was recovered from nearby bushes.

The postmortem confirmed that both had been strangled with a bamboo stick.

During the investigation, police found that lawyer Prabhakar Tripathi alias Rinku had deceitfully taken control of the couple's three shops in Ikauna.

To evade legal action, the lawyer conspired with the deceased couple's three sons, luring them with money and gifts to kill their own parents, SP Bhati said.

Roshan Khan had two sons, Haseeb Khan and Naseeb Khan, from his first marriage, while Waseela's son from her first marriage is Musib Khan. All three have been arrested.

According to police, Roshan Khan had transferred the three shops to his wife Waseela through a deed in August. On the same day, advocate Tripathi allegedly tricked her into signing a fake sale deed by showing a cheque of Rs 10 lakh as payment. He later sold the shops to another buyer for around Rs ?80 lakh.

Waseela then filed cases in the district court and high court seeking cancellation of the deed and also lodged a complaint at the Ikauna police station, though an FIR was not registered then.

Investigators said electronic surveillance, witness statements and interrogation revealed that Tripathi had masterminded the murders. He allegedly offered one son a motorcycle and promised Rs 10 lakh, and assured the others of financial benefits as well. The sons confessed that they strangled their parents in their sleep using a bamboo stick.

Police registered the case on November 23. All four accused have been sent to jail.

Police also stated that Tripathi already faces a cheating case, while Haseeb Khan has a case of assault registered against him.