KANPUR: Investigators probing the killing of Kanpur-based pharmaceutical businessman Vineet Minocha have uncovered WhatsApp messages they believe indicate that his daughter-in-law, Shalu, urged the accused, Vishal Gautam, to murder him.Shalu, Vishal, and another accused, Rajkishore, have been remanded to jail. According to a senior police official, Shalu and Vishal had been communicating on WhatsApp for quite some time.At first, Vishal regularly sent her good morning and good night texts without getting any response, but around three months ago, Shalu started replying and engaging in conversation.Also read: 3 plans. 1 target. 26 stabs: 'Killer bahu’s’ chilling murder scriptShe complimented Vishal on his looks, writing that he was smart, and asked him whether he was in a relationship and why he had not yet married.Police believe Shalu began planning the murder about three months earlier and intentionally manipulated Vishal into carrying it out.DCP West SM Qasim Abidi said that after the murder, Vishal erased his chat history with Shalu, though he failed to fully remove the WhatsApp call records. Investigators found evidence of multiple exchanges between the two. Vishal had also been in touch with Minocha’s son, including on the day the murder took place.

Police said Vishal discarded a duplicate key to the flat at some distance from the apartment later that night. Officers intend to request his custodial remand in court so they can recover the key and question him further.Minocha, 63, who lived in Ratan Orbit Apartment in Indiranagar, Kalyanpur, was killed late on Saturday night. His son and daughter-in-law had gone to a party and returned at 4:13 a.m., whereupon they discovered his blood-covered body inside a room. He had deep wounds on his neck and more than 18 sharp-force injuries.