Friend helps man murder family for property, then kills him using same rod over loot

For nearly two days, four bodies lay hidden inside a locked building above a bustling market in Uttar Pradesh's Prayagraj. Neighbours walked past. Shopkeepers opened their shutters. Life carried on as usual. It was only when a foul smell began spreading through the area that police broke open the door and uncovered a scene of unimaginable horror: a businessman, his wife, daughter and son bludgeoned to death inside their own home. Read Full Story Blood-stained rooms. A locked house. Three bodies. And one family member missing. The family's son, Abhishek, had vanished. At first, investigators believed Abhishek could be the killer, and they were hunting for him. Instead, they would uncover a murder plot involving family feuds, stolen jewellery, a fake clue pointing to innocent relatives, and a conspiracy. As investigators moved through the building, they stumbled upon something even stranger. The bodies appeared to have been doused with detergent, toilet cleaner and other substances, as though someone had gone to extraordinary lengths to erase what had happened inside those walls. Then another clue surfaced. A handwritten message left near the scene carried a chilling accusation - "Beti Babli Bahu ne maara hai." In a case already soaked in blood, the note appeared to offer an answer. Instead, it would deepen the mystery. Because what initially looked like a straightforward hunt for a killer would soon unravel into a tale of family feuds, property disputes, deception, stolen jewellery and a murder plot so elaborate that investigators first suspected one victim of carrying out the killings, before discovering he was dead too. THE FAMILY AT THE CENTRE OF THE HORROR Virendra Vaishya was a known businessman in the area. He lived in the building with his wife Anita, daughter Meenakshi and elder son Abhishek. The property itself was valuable. The ground floor housed around 15 to 16 shops, most of them rented out, generating more than Rs 1 lakh every month. One shop was operated by Abhishek, who sold Vestige products including liquid detergent and toilet cleaners. Another belonged to Meenakshi, who had recently started a gift gallery business. But beneath the appearance of a stable family business, tensions had been simmering for years. Virendra had reportedly disowned his younger son Ashwini around 15 years ago after he married against the family's wishes. Property disputes had become a recurring source of conflict within the family. Investigators would later discover that those fractures ran deeper than anyone realised. THE CLUE THAT POINTED IN THE WRONG DIRECTION The mysterious note immediately drew attention towards Ashwini and his wife Ritu. Locally, the couple were known as "Bunty-Babli". The nickname carried baggage. Ashwini and Ritu had landed in jail in 2024 in a fraud case linked to alleged matrimonial website scams. Their strained relationship with the family and the wording of the note appeared too significant to ignore. Was the message left behind by a dying victim? Had someone finally acted on years of resentment? For a brief period, investigators pursued those questions. But inside the house, another trail was beginning to emerge. THE SON WHO LOOKED GUILTY The deeper police looked, the more suspicion appeared to fall on Abhishek. His body was nowhere to be found. A blood-stained T-shirt linked to him was recovered. The bodies had been covered with detergent and cleaning agents - products that happened to be sold from his own shop downstairs. The circumstances seemed to point in a single direction. Perhaps Abhishek had murdered his parents and sister before fleeing. But then investigators forced open the locked shop he operated in the market below. Inside, they found another corpse. It was Abhishek. The man who had seemed like the prime suspect was dead. The investigation had just turned on its head. THE KILLER'S ATTEMPT TO ERASE EVERYTHING The discovery of Abhishek's body raised more questions than answers. Like the other victims, his body also bore severe head injuries. It too had been covered with detergent and other substances. Investigators now believed somebody had spent hours inside the property after the murders. Whoever committed the crime had not merely killed. They had cleaned. Detergent powder, toilet cleaner, bleaching agents and other materials had allegedly been used across the scene. Evidence appeared to have been washed. Objects had been moved. Potential clues had vanished. This was not the work of someone acting in panic. It looked calculated. Almost rehearsed. But in trying to erase every trace, the killer had left behind one crucial mistake. THE MAN WHO WALKED OUT IN A DEAD MAN'S CLOTHES Police began examining CCTV footage from the surrounding area. Among the recordings, investigators spotted a figure leaving the complex. The man appeared to be wearing Virendra Vaishya's clothes and shoes. The footage became the breakthrough investigators desperately needed. Locals identified the man