A 30-year-old woman was detained by the police on Monday in connection with the murder of her 63-year-old father-in-law, a prominent city pharmaceutical trader, who was found dead at home inside a gated apartment complex with 26 stab wounds on September 5, police said.
The two were arrested late Sunday night after sustaining leg wounds during a gunfight with the police. Vineet was alone at home over the weekend. His wife Punita, a marriage counsellor, was on a visit to Ghaziabad. Their daughter Subhani and son-in-law, both engineers, live in Gurugram. When they returned, they found the main door of the flat open and Vineet’s body lying on the floor of a room. When the police examined CCTV footage, they saw two men entering the flat. One of them was later identified as Vishal, the domestic help. A short while later, Vishal was seen leaving Vinocha’s room and the flat, followed by another man whose face was covered. But Vishal then spoke to Shalu over the phone.
Deputy commissioner of police West SM Qasim Abidi said Shalu was detained after the family’s domestic help, Vishal Gautam, 30, and his alleged accomplice Raj Kishore, 30, allegedly told police that they killed the businessman on her orders. Police said the family ran Pharma Traders, a wholesale pharmaceutical business on Birhana Road with an annual turnover of over ₹ 40 crore, with his son Subrat. Police said he was killed between 10:30pm on Saturday and 3am on Sunday when Vineet’s son, daughter-in-law and grandson had gone to a party. At 11.29 pm, another man was also seen near a neighbour’s flat to make a delivery.
Police said they were investigating allegations that the woman, Shalu Vinocha, ordered a hit on her multi-millionaire father-in-law, Vineet Vinocha, to end his tight control over the household’s finances. Shalu allegedly told the police that she and her husband had no control over their finances and that, like their employees, they were given a fixed monthly amount and had to request any additional amount from him. Ratan Orbit security in-charge Madan told police that when Vishal reached the apartment with Raj Kishore, he had initially refused to let them in. She allegedly told the security guard to let them in, saying that the men had come with medicines.
