UP: 3 held for killing Hindu outfit leader

LUCKNOW: Three people, including the wife of slain Vishwa Hindu Mahasabha (VHM) head Ranjeet Bachchan, were arrested on Thursday in connection with his murder, police said.

Bachchan, 40, who founded VHM, was shot dead when he was out on a morning walk on February 2, a few kilometres away from the high-security Uttar Pradesh legislature complex in Lucknow. His cousin Aditya Srivastava was also injured in the attack.

According to the police, the murder was a fallout of the strained relations between Bachchan and his second wife Smriti Srivastava, who works as a clerk in the state treasury department. The two have a four-year-old child, and have been living separately since 2016, said an official.

Lucknow Commissioner of Police Sujeet Pandey said Srivastava and one Deependra Kumar were in a relationship and wanted to get married.

According to the police, Bachchan had relations with several women and married Srivastava in January 18, 2015, allegedly without telling her that he was already married. Srivastava separated from Bachchan after she came to know about his first marriage and his other relations.

“On January 17, Bachchan visited Srivastava and tried to force her to celebrate their marriage anniversary on January 18. When she refused, he assaulted her... After the assault, Srivastava and Kumar hatched a conspiracy to kill Bachchan and recruited Kumar’s driver Sanjit Gautam and cousin Jeetendra,” Pandey said. Pandey said Jeetendra and Deependra returned to Rae Bareli from different routes and from there left for Mumbai through train after the killing. He said Smriti and Dependra’s relation came to light through call record details.

Deependra was arrested from a hideout near UP and MP border while Smriti was arrested from her house. Sanjit was arrested from Rae Bareli.