Police’s bid to take three jailed accused in businessman Vineet Manocha’s murder into custody for further questioning hit a legal hurdle on Wednesday, as a lawyers’ strike prevented the court from hearing the remand plea. The three accused were produced before the court, but the hearing was deferred to September 19 after lawyers representing the other side did not appear.
Manocha, 60, who ran a pharmaceutical firm on Birhana Road with his son, was stabbed to death in the early hours of September 5.
Manocha’s daughter-in-law Shalu, domestic help Vishal and his aide Rajkishore were brought from jail and produced before the court. Shalu’s appearance was notable as it was the first time she was seen on camera since being sent to jail. She tried to shield her face from media cameras while being taken into court.
Police had moved the court for custody remand of the three accused after questioning them in jail with permission from a magistrate. Shalu’s husband, Subrat, was also questioned for nearly two hours. Investigators are seeking custodial interrogation to question the four together and verify the sequence of events.
If the remand is granted, police plan to take the accused to places they had visited before the killing, including a key-making shop and other locations. Investigators want to verify their movements and piece together the events preceding the murder.
The police have based their remand request on information gathered during the jail interrogations and other findings made during the investigation.
