A man was murdered after being relentlessly pursued for ten years by his assailant. What sounds like the plot of a thriller was, in fact, a chilling act of real-life vengeance. Sonu Kashyap, whose mother was allegedly assaulted a decade ago, spent the next ten years scouring the streets of Lucknow with a singular mission: to find and punish Manoj, the man he held responsible.
Sonu, along with his friends, meticulously plotted Manoj’s murder, luring them into the plan with the promise of a celebratory party after the killing. Manoj, a coconut water seller, became the target of this cold-blooded revenge. Ironically, it was a social media post that unraveled the crime. The accused were identified as Sonu, Ranjeet, Adil, Salamu, and Rehmat Ali.
Manoj reportedly assaulted Sonu’s mother over a dispute nearly a decade ago. After the incident, he fled from the area. Enraged by the insult to his mother, Sonu swore to take revenge and began a quest to find him. Years passed, but he didn’t give in to his inner will. Around three months ago, he finally spotted him in the city’s Munshi Pulia area, and the planning began with this.
He began to note down Manoj’s daily schedule and build a plot to kill him. He can not do it alone, so he involved his friends in the murder plot on the promise to give them a party after the murder. On May 22, after Manoj closed his shop and was alone, he attacked him with an iron rod and left him half-dead. Manoj was taken to the hospital where doctors operated him. However, in the middle of the treatment, Manoj succumbed to his injuries.
Although CCTV footage captured the accused, one individual remained unidentified. Meanwhile, the group indulged in a lavish liquor party hosted by Sonu to celebrate the murder. Intoxicated and careless, they posted pictures of the celebration on social media, a crucial mistake that helped police crack the case.
Investigators matched one suspect from the CCTV footage with a social media post, where he was seen wearing the same distinctive orange t-shirt he had worn during the attack. A deeper probe into their online profiles confirmed their involvement.
