Lucknow: A property dealer shot dead the cousin of a hotel owner on Tuesday after the victim allegedly passed comments on his girlfriend outside an inn in Vikalp Khand, Gomtinagar. The accused, Akash Tiwari (23), and his girlfriend, Pushpa Gautam alias Payal (26), have been arrested.Police said Pushpa, a native of Gorakhpur, was staying at the inn with another woman since July 16. She works in event management and lives in Vikas Khand. The hotel is co-owned by Uday Sen Yadav of Sultanpur and Devendra Mishra of Barabanki, with Uday’s cousin, Diwakar Yadav (21), managing daily operations.Chinhat inspector, Dinesh Chandra Mishra said Pushpa, while talking on her phone, stepped out of her room around midnight. Diwakar and a few staff allegedly made inappropriate remarks, leading to a heated argument. Pushpa later left the hotel on a bike with Akash, a property dealer from Ayodhya’s Gosaiganj area, currently residing in Vishnu Vihar colony, Matiyari.DCP East, Shashank Singh said that during their ride, Pushpa narrated the incident to Akash. He dropped her on the way, returned to the hotel. He confronted Diwakar and opened fire at him. Hotel staff rushed Diwakar to RMLIMS, where doctors declared him dead. Following a complaint from co-owner Devendra, an FIR for murder was filed against Akash and Pushpa.The couple was later arrested in Chinhat. Police said Akash already has two criminal cases, including charges of assault and illegal firearms. “Both have been taken into custody, and the weapon used in the crime is being traced. Akash will be booked under the Arms Act as well,” Singh said.Diwakar’s family reached Lucknow at the post-mortem house. His younger brother, Prabhakar said that Diwakar came to Lucknow four months ago. The deceased’s father, Satish Kumar Yadav said that his son left home saying he was going to work in Lucknow. “We were not aware that Diwakar was working in a hotel,” the family said, adding, “Last night, our nephew called informing us there had been a scuffle and everyone was at the police station. When we reached Lucknow, we learned about the murder.”
