Kanpur: A hosiery trader, Vijay Chaurasia, was called on the phone on Friday evening from his shop in Shivala Bazar and murdered, with his body later found on the stairs of a house in Sawai Singh Ka Hata near Chowk Sarafa.Family members accused Vishal Gupta, a restaurant operator residing in the hata, of shooting him to death. Police said camera footage showed Vijay going on Vishal’s scooter and, a short while later, Vishal leaving alone. A woman residing in the house said she heard a sound like a gunshot and saw Vishal leaving from near the crime scene. The two were said to be acquainted with each other.Vijay Chaurasia, 42, lived in Sirki Mohal and ran a hosiery cloth shop in Shiwala Bazar. According to a complaint filed by his elder brother Ajay, Vijay told him that Vishal had called him under the pretence of showing a house. At around 8pm, an acquaintance named Annu came to the shop and informed them that Vijay was lying unconscious on the stairs of Ramchandra Gupta’s house in Sawai Singh Ka Hata, with blood flowing from his head. Annu said he received the information from a woman living in the same house. The family reached the spot and took Vijay to Ursala Hospital, where the doctor declared him dead.The tenant living in the house where the body was found on the stairs said that between 7:15pm and 7:30pm, after hearing a sound like a gunshot, she stepped outside and saw restaurant operator Vishal Gupta, who lived nearby, leaving the spot wearing an orange-coloured shirt.Additional police commissioner (law & order) Vipin Tada said police reached the spot after receiving information about Vijay’s death in the Pheelkhana police station area. “The injured was taken to the hospital by family members, where doctors declared him dead. Doctors have stated that the death was due to injuries sustained. The body was taken into custody, and after completing the panchayat nama proceedings, it was sent for postmortem examination.”Tada said family members told police that around 6:30pm, an acquaintance of the deceased, Vishal Gupta took him from the shop along with him. Based on preliminary CCTV footage and other evidence, police found that both men went from the shop to a house about 1.5km away. After some time, the accused fled the scene, and the deceased was found injured. Local people informed the family and took him to the hospital, where he was declared dead.Police said the deceased and the accused knew each other and both had shops in the same locality. An investigation is underway. Police registered a case based on available evidence and the family’s written complaint, and further legal proceedings are being conducted. For the swift uncovering of the incident, four teams were formed under ADCP east. Police said efforts were being made to arrest the accused.
