UP: Triple murder on highway rocks Basti

LUCKNOW: A triple murder rocked Basti after bodies of a wholesale dealer, a truck driver and a porter were recovered in Chavni police station area of the district on Saturday. The deceased — Mohammed Aslam, Raj Kumar and Sonu Maurya — were attacked with a sharp-edged weapon and their bodies bore injuries in the neck. The motive is yet to be ascertained with no sign of loot at crime scene, said a police officer.
Workers of Adesh Dhaba in Chavni area stumbled upon a body near their eatery and informed cops, who identified the deceased as Sonu Maurya from the cell phone found in his trousers.
“After police teams took Maurya’s body, just 2km ahead on the highway to Lucknow, a stranded truck was found from where bodies of Aslam and Kumar were recovered,” said, superintendent of police, Basti, Hemraj Meena.
Speaking to TOI, Meena said, preliminary investigations revealed the trio was returning from West Champaran in Bihar after selling a consignment of potatoes, onions and garlic. “The trio worked for a Kanpur businessman, Manoj Kumar,” said the officer. However, murder motive was unclear as Rs 1.46 lakh in cash was found neatly stashed in the pocket of one of the deceased and the truck too was left untouched.
“We were able to ascertain their identities from their mobile phones and their last location was found to be a toll plaza in Chavni on way to Lucknow. There were blood stains and signs of struggle in the thickets where Maurya’s body was found,” said the officer.
Meena said, a murder FIR was lodged against unidentified persons on the truck owner Manoj’s complaint. Police said, the triple murder could be the fallout of road rage on the highway.