4 held for murder of store employee

Lucknow: Four persons were arrested on Friday for the murder of 28-year-old Ankit Kumar Verma, caretaker of a general store on Sitapur Road. The accused had staged the crime scene to look like a suicide.
DCP North Zone, Gopal Krishna Chaudhary, said the accused were traced through CCTV footage and mobile surveillance. The four suspects — Akash Rawat, Kunal Gupta, Umesh Gautam, and Raju Nagar — were arrested near Kisan Path.
Chaudhary said Sangram Rawat had planned the robbery at the general store on Jan 9 where Ankit worked. However, their plan went awry when Ankit, who stayed at the store at night, woke up during the robbery. The gang panicked and strangled him.
Sangram had been arrested earlier by Barabanki police under a Pocso case. The other accused too had criminal history.
Ankit worked at Tribhuvan Maurya's grocery store on Sitapur Road for years. His routine was simple—he guarded the store at night, sleeping outside on a cot.