A shocking case of double murder followed by suicide was reported in Lucknow on Thursday after a State Bank of India employee allegedly shot his wife outside her workplace before killing his sister and himself.
Manas Vajpayee allegedly called his wife, Divya Mishra, outside an ICICI Bank branch in the Gomti Nagar area around noon. Divya worked at the branch.
According to eyewitness accounts shared with police, the 38-year-old spoke to her for a few minutes before allegedly shooting her. She was rushed to a hospital, where doctors declared her brought dead.
Couple was living separately
Police said Manas and Divya had been married for around 12 years but had been living separately for more than a year.
According to the information available in the case, Divya had filed for divorce last year. Police said Manas had allegedly accused her of cheating on him.
After the shooting outside the bank, Manas allegedly returned to his home, where he shot his 28-year-old sister, Shiva Vajpayee.
Police said Shiva was reportedly dealing with mental health issues.
WhatsApp status revealed alleged plan
The case took another turn when Manas allegedly posted a WhatsApp status before killing himself. In the message, he claimed to have killed his wife and said he intended to kill his sister and himself.
"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.
Police later found Manas dead inside his house.
Neighbour recalls final moments
A shopkeeper living near Manas' residence told NDTV that he returned home at around 12:30 pm.
"Manas was in a hurry and sweating profusely. He went inside house and played Hanuman Chalisa," the shopkeeper said.
The neighbour later noticed Manas' WhatsApp status and went inside the house, where he found him dead.
The incident has triggered a police investigation into the circumstances surrounding the shootings and the events that preceded them.