The murder case of Kanpur pharmaceutical businessman Vineet Minocha took a turn Thursday, with police arresting his son, alleging that he had hired men to kill his father and then tried to pin it on his wife.Police said Subrat, 32, was driven by resentment over his father’s controlling ways and mounting personal debt.Also read | Kitty Party was only a ruse: 26 stabs and a Kanpur family’s fatal secretVineet was found dead in his first-floor flat at Ratan Orbit complex in Kalyanpur on September 6; he had been stabbed 26 times. The next day, police had arrested Vineet’s daughter-in-law Shalu and the two men who allegedly stabbed him, Vishal Gautam and Raj Kishore. Vishal was a former employee at Vineet’s pharmacy on Birhana Road.The fresh revelation emerged when police questioned the three accused during their police custody remand (PCR) and confronted Subrat with them face-to-face. Police said that after several rounds of questioning and cross-examination, Subrat admitted to the crime.“We have arrested Subrat, who has turned out to be the mastermind behind the case, based on the evidence collected against him,” said Deputy Commissioner of Police, Kanpur, SM Qasim Abidi.Police have now decided to re-verify Shalu’s role in the case before moving court to have her exonerated.Debt, thefts and clashes with his fatherAssistant Commissioner of Police, Kanpur, Dileep Kumar Singh, said investigation revealed that Subrat held seven credit cards and was under heavy debt of around Rs 40 lakh, including loans and money borrowed from private lenders.Story continues below this adStatements recorded from his friends and relatives showed that he had allegedly been stealing goods from the pharmacy to settle his debts, with the help of shop staff.Police said Vineet had caught him stealing medicines on several occasions, sometimes with Vishal’s assistance. “Vineet had scolded Subrat several times after catching him involved in the thefts, often reprimanding him in front of the staff,” said a police officer.During questioning, police also asked Subrat where the Rs 40 lakh had gone. According to an officer, he said he was fond of parties and that the money had gone into betting, partying and gambling.He could not explain how he planned to repay the debt, police said, given that his father gave him Rs 40,000 a month for expenses, out of which he also had to look after his wife and child.Story continues below this adSubrat, police said, then decided to get rid of his father and hired Vishal. For the past five months, the two had allegedly been planning the killing.Investigators found that Subrat and Vishal had been in regular contact, speaking nearly two to three times a day. But they did not discuss the murder over the phone. Instead, Vishal would be called to the pharmacy, where the two allegedly planned the killing in the basement.The original plan, police said, was to strangle Vineet in his sleep.How the blame shifted to ShaluPolice said Subrat admitted to giving Vishal the key to the house, helping him gain entry.Story continues below this adThe plan, according to police, was for Shalu to facilitate Vishal’s entry into the apartment under the name ‘Shubham’ as Vineet disliked Vishal visiting the house.After his arrest, Vishal initially implicated Shalu, claiming she had given him the key, facilitated his entry, and planned the killing.Shalu, however, never admitted to the crime.The questions that raised suspicionSubrat’s own answers during questioning also raised questions, police said.One, he could not explain why he had failed to recognise Vishal when they were shown CCTV footage from the building while Shalu had identified him immediately. “Subrat claimed he was drunk at the time and couldn’t recognise him right away,” said a police officer.Story continues below this adHe was also questioned about why the CCTV recording installed at the house had been stopped on the day of the murder. Subrat initially said he had done it on Shalu’s instructions.“When we brought him face-to-face with Shalu, he admitted that she had not asked him to do so. He then said he could not recall who had,” police said.Shalu, Vishal and Raj Kishore are currently on a 24-hour police custody remand, set to end today at noon.—caption: Shalu, her husband Subrat, her father-in-law, Vineet Minocha