murder - Gurpreet Singh (31) Bizman killed over illicit affair with friend's wife- Lucknow:

Lucknow: A man and his wife were sent to prison on Saturday for murder of a businessman whose body was taken out of a nullah in Aashiana area late on Friday. Body of Ruchi Khand, Aashiana resident Gurpreet Singh (31) who went missing on April 30 had been dumped in the nullah located in Aurangabad locality. Gurpreet's close friend Amit Kumar Pasricha and his wife Mamta were arrested by city police for the act.

Complex nature of relationship between Gurpreet and the Pasricha couple led to the gruesome murder on April 30 and they confessed during questioning by police.

Both Gurpreet and Amit belonged to the same community and owned bicycle stores in Aashiana. The two became fast friends more than three years back and began visiting each others' houses on special occasions. Health of Amit's wife Mamta deteriorated suddenly two years back and Gurpreet's mother stayed at Amit's house for household chores and look after Mamta for a month. Last year, Gurpreet met with an accident and fractured his leg. He stayed at Amit's house and Mamta looked after him. The two grew close and they got into a relationship. Soon Amit found out about the relationship and started avoiding Gurpreet.

Officer-in-charge of Aashiana police station sub-inspector Santosh Tiwari said that on April 28, Gurpreet reached Amit's house and said he wanted to marry Mamta.

The two managed to send him back home and informed his brother about the development. On April 30, Gurpreet landed at the couple's house time with a bottle containing petrol. He entered the room and threatened to set himself afire. Amit brought a hammer and hit Gurpreet on the skull and kept hammering his head continuously till he bled to death, said police.

The couple checked his pockets and took out a cell phone and Rs 12,700 cash. While Amit destroyed the cellphone, he deposited the cash in charity box of Aashiana gurudwara the next day. The two hid Gurpreet's two-wheeler and dumped the body in a nullah. With the help of electronic surveillance police cracked the case on Friday and sent the couple to jail. Remains of hte deceased's mobile phone and hammer used for crime were recovered for evidence.