GREATER NOIDA: Forty eight hours after the heinous crime, police on Friday claimed to have solved the Cherry County double murder by arresting a 19-year-old staff of the family’s departmental store and his accomplice.
Police said 59-year-old businessman Vinay Gupta and his wife Neha were killed by Aman Hayat Khan late on Tuesday night after the couple refused to give him money. Apart from Aman, another accused, Saurabh, who had allegedly asked the former to get money if he wanted to start a business, has been arrested. Cops have also recovered Rs 72,000 of the Rs 1 lakh that Aman had looted from the house.
Aman, police said, entered the upscale Noida Extension condominium at 11.45pm on Tuesday. At the time, no security guard was present at the gate. “Aman reached the flat via the lift and rang the doorbell. Vinay opened the door and allowed him inside. Aman asked him for money but he refused,” DCP (central Noida) Harish Chander said.
After Vinay went to the bedroom, Aman asked Neha for food. “Neha started serving him at the dining table. But after taking two bites, Aman picked up a candle stand and hit Neha from behind. Alarmed by Neha’s cries, Vinay came out and tried to nab Aman. But Aman hit Vinay multiple times with the candle stand,” he said, adding that the accused was also carrying a knife.
After the double murder, Aman went to the Price Smart complex and washed himself in a bathroom where he removed his shoes, which were recovered and identified by his friend. “The accused booked an Oyo hotel in Sector 62 where he stayed for the night and was about to flee to Bihar for which he had booked an Ola cab. But he was arrested before that,” Chander said.
The case was solved with the help of the crime branch, the surveillance team and the CCTV footage, which had captured him entering and exiting the society, the DCP said.
Chander claimed that the main accused who was previously pursuing BCA from a college in Greater Noida, had been hiding his full name from his employer, identifying himself only as “Aman.” Originally from Bihar’s Motihari, Aman previously worked as a helper in the Gaur City Mall before joining Vinay’s departmental store.
Conspiracy planned for friend’s daughter?
According to police, the loot and murder conspiracy was planned by Aman, who was friendly with his friend Saurabh’s 15-year-old daughter. “Saurabh is a drunkard and Aman was friendly with his daughter. Saurabh instigated him to get some cash to start a business,” Chander said.
Cops have also recovered the knife and the bloodstained clothes from his possession. They are also probing the role of Saurabh’s daughter.