Lucknow banker kills estranged wife, sister before taking own life

A State Bank of India employee allegedly shot dead his estranged wife outside her workplace in Lucknow before returning home, killing his younger sister and taking his own life on Thursday, in a case police are investigating as a double murder followed by suicide.

The killings unfolded within a short span around noon and left three people dead at two locations in the Uttar Pradesh capital.

According to IANS, police identified the man as 38-year-old Manas Vajpayee, who was reportedly involved in an ongoing marital dispute with his wife, Divya Mishra.

Police are also examining a WhatsApp status allegedly posted by Vajpayee after his wife was shot, in which he accused her of cheating on him and indicated his intention to kill himself and his sister. Investigators have not independently established the allegations contained in the message.

Wife called out of bank

The first shooting took place outside an ICICI Bank branch in the upscale Gomti Nagar area at around noon.

Vajpayee allegedly arrived at the bank, where Mishra worked, and called her outside. According to eyewitness accounts cited by IANS, the couple spoke for a few minutes before he allegedly opened fire.

Mishra, 36, suffered gunshot injuries and collapsed outside the bank. She was rushed to hospital, where doctors declared her brought dead.

The Times of India reported that Mishra worked as an assistant manager and relationship manager at the bank.

Police said the couple had been married for about 12 years but had been living separately for more than a year. Mishra had reportedly approached a court seeking a divorce last year.

Investigators are examining whether the couple’s marital dispute was connected to the killing.

Second alert leads police to home

DCP East Dr Diksha Sharma said police initially received information about a woman being shot in the Gomti Nagar police station area.

“The police had received information of a woman being shot at in Gomti Nagar PS area today. On reaching the incident spot, the police were told that the woman’s husband shot her,” Sharma said, according to an account of her statement carried by NDTV.

While officers were dealing with the shooting, another alert came in about a man who had allegedly killed his sister before taking his own life.

Police subsequently established that the man was Vajpayee.

According to investigators, after leaving Gomti Nagar, Vajpayee returned to his rented accommodation near Husadiya crossing, where his younger sister was staying.

He allegedly shot her before turning the weapon on himself.

Police recovered three firearms from the residence, IANS reported. Investigators are examining the weapons as part of efforts to reconstruct the sequence of events.

WhatsApp message under scrutiny

A WhatsApp status allegedly posted from Vajpayee’s account shortly after Mishra was shot has become a key part of the investigation.

In the message, he claimed that he had killed his wife because she had “cheated” on him and indicated that he intended to kill himself and his sister. The message also referred to Mishra’s sister Pragya and another person named Bharat.

Police are investigating the status and the allegations contained in it. There has been no independent verification of Vajpayee’s accusations against his wife.

Mishra was the sister of YouTuber Pragya Mishra. Soon after the shooting, Pragya posted on social media saying she had learnt that her sister had been shot and taken to hospital, and appealed for prayers, according to IANS.

Neighbour describes final moments

A shopkeeper near Vajpayee’s residence told NDTV that he saw the banker return at around 12.30pm.

“Manas was in a hurry and sweating profusely. He went inside house and played Hanuman Chalisa,” the shopkeeper said.

The neighbour later saw Vajpayee’s WhatsApp status and went inside the residence, where he found him dead, NDTV reported.

Police are now investigating the marital dispute, the WhatsApp message, the firearms recovered from the house and the precise sequence of events leading to the three deaths.