Kanpur: Investigators probing the murder of Kanpur-based pharmaceutical businessman Vineet Minocha (63) have uncovered WhatsApp exchanges that, they believe, charted the transformation of a seemingly casual acquaintance into an alleged murder plot.According to police, accused Vishal Gautam, a former employee of Vineet, had initially sent Shalu regular “good morning” and “good night” messages without receiving a response. But about three months ago, she began engaging with him. She allegedly complimented him on his looks, calling him smart, before turning to more personal questionsPolice suspect she had been planning the murder for around three months and deliberately built a rapport with Gautam to get him to carry it out.Shalu, Gautam and another accused, Rajkishore, have been remanded in jail. According to a senior police officer, Shalu complimented Gautam on his looks, writing that he was smart, and asked whether he was in a relationship and why he had not yet married.DCP West SM Qasim Abidi said Gautam erased his chat history with Shalu after the murder, though he failed to fully delete the WhatsApp call records. Investigators found evidence of multiple exchanges between the two. Gautam had also been in touch with Minocha’s son, including on the day of the murder.
