Singhal also wanted to teach his wife, who stayed separately, a lesson for siding with Gaurav and, hence, chose to kill him a day before his wedding, interrogators said.An investigator said the trigger was a brawl on Wednesday, but Singhal was harbouring thoughts of eliminating his son for the past three-four months.
Three contract killers were hired for the job. “The contract killers were paid Rs 75,000 and the deal was fixed at Rs 1.5 lakh. All residents of the same locality, they are 22-25 years old,” an officer said.
The investigation has revealed that the father and son had frequent arguments over various issues, including the latter’s extravagant lifestyle. Singhal told the cops that he wanted his wife to suffer for life as she used to support Gaurav, and chose the day before his wedding to increase her pain.
“He told us that Gaurav had slapped him and his mother supported his disrespect. She used to incite her son to beat him up, abuse him in front of others. He told us his self-respect was declining day by day because of his son,” an officer said.
The accused further said he had no remorse for killing his son. Just a day before, Singhal had boasted to people that he would do something that everyone would remember. On Wednesday, he called a worker at his son’s gym and asked him to tell Gaurav to meet him at their second house. When Gaurav arrived, he was attacked with iron rods, knives and scissors. He had over 15 injuries on his body.
Deputy commissioner of police (south) Ankit Chauhan said the accused was arrested with the help of Rajasthan police and Rs 15 lakh and 886 grams of gold were found on him. “He was planning to flee to another state. Singhal said he got his son killed before the wedding as he didn’t want Gaurav to ruin the girl’s life,” he said.
Police are also probing if the father and son had a dispute over Gaurav wanting to marry another girl.
Singhal’s main source of income was rent while Gaurav owned a gym. The family lived near Raju Park in Devli Extension. Police received a PCR call at 12.30am on Thursday and family members said Gaurav had suddenly gone missing even as his pre-wedding rituals were going on. Some relatives went to his uninhabited house near their main residence and found him lying in a pool of blood.
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