Lucknow, Aug 20 — A shocking incident of alleged double murder followed by suicide sent shockwaves across Lucknow on Thursday after a bank employee allegedly shot dead his estranged wife outside her workplace, returned home and killed his sister before taking his own life.
The accused, identified as Manas Vajpayee, an employee of the State Bank of India, allegedly shot his wife, Divya Mishra, outside an ICICI Bank branch in the upscale Gomti Nagar area around noon.
According to police and eyewitness accounts, the 38-year-old Vajpayee called Mishra outside the bank where she worked and spoke with her for a few minutes. He allegedly opened fire at her before fleeing from the spot.
She was rushed to a hospital for treatment, where doctors declared her brought dead.
The couple had been married for around 12 years but had reportedly been living separately for more than a year. Mishra had also filed for divorce last year, according to information available to the police.
DCP, East, Dr Diksha Sharma said police initially received information about a woman being shot in the Gomti Nagar police station area. While officers were responding to the incident, police received another alert about a man who had allegedly killed his sister and then died by suicide.
“It was subsequently verified that he was the same man, Manas Vajpayee, who had killed his wife and sister before committing suicide,” Dr Sharma said.
Police said the accused had allegedly shot his 28-year-old sister, Shiva Vajpayee, at their residence before turning the weapon on himself. She was reportedly facing mental health-related issues.
Three firearms were recovered from the house, police said.
In another shocking layer to the case, Vajpayee, before killing himself had put a WhatsApp status announcing that he had killed his wife and sister.
"Today I killed my wife who cheated on me. Now I have to kill myself and my sister, her sister Pragya, and everything," read the WhatsApp status.
A shopkeeper living near Vajpayee's residence said that the accused returned home at around 12.30 p.m. and appeared to be in a state of panic.
“He was in a hurry and sweating profusely. He went inside the house and played the Hanuman Chalisa,” the shopkeeper reportedly said.
The neighbour later noticed Vajpayee's WhatsApp status and went inside the house, where he allegedly found him dead.
Soon after the shooting incident, Mishra's sister, Pragya Mishra, posted on social media, saying she had received information that her sister had been shot and taken to Lohia Hospital. She tagged the Uttar Pradesh Police and asked people to pray for her.
Police are investigating the circumstances behind the killings and the subsequent suicide.