Teen girls, their cousins arrested for jeweller’s murder

Lucknow: A jeweller accused of pressuring a girl for physical relations after she failed to repay a loan was allegedly murdered by her with the help of her cousins. Police on Wednesday arrested two teenage girls and their three cousins for the murder of the 65-year-old jeweller, Roop Narayan Soni, in the Dubagga area. DCP of west zone, Vishwajeet Srivastava said the jeweller and moneylender was pressuring one of the girls for physical relations after she failed to repay a loan. On Mar 18, the girl called Soni to her house under the pretext of repaying the loan. When he arrived, her three cousins confronted him, leading to a violent altercation. The girl then picked up a brick and, along with her cousins, repeatedly struck Soni on his face, chest and back, killing him. The accused used an ambulance to transport the body and dumped it in a field near the roadside. The next day, when Soni didn't return home, his kin filed a missing person report at the Chowk police station. Soni's decomposed body was found two days later, said Srivastava.Srivastava said that Soni used to lend money. One of the accused girls pawned jewellery with him in Dec 2024. She took a loan of ₹65,000 with an interest rate of ₹8,000 per month. However, she was unable to repay the interest. Soni allegedly harassed her for repayment and even sent obscene messages on WhatsApp. Enraged, the girl confided in her cousins. They decided to murder Soni, Srivastava said.After killing Soni, they stole the keys to his shop from his pocket. Later that night, they broke into the shop to loot jewellery. The police found over 5kg of silver, 143 gm of gold jewellery, the murder weapon (a brick), and the ambulance used in the crime.During investigation, police found the jewellery shop shutter partially open with the key still inside. CCTV footage and surveillance tracking led them to the accused. Upon interrogation, they confessed to the crime.The two minor girls have been sent to a juvenile home, while the three cousins are in police custody.