Inspired by 'Asura', LLB student and aide murder elderly couple in Meerut, loot Rs 8 crore; held

An LLB student and his partner, a class 8 passout did a reiki of the area for two years. Then, they shot the elderly businessman and his wife and looted Rs 8 crore, including cash and jewellery. The accused were held within 48 hours of the crime, police said

Meerut: In a major breakthrough in the double murder and robbery case in Meerut, police on Saturday arrested two youths. It has been revealed that the mastermind is a student of LLB, who along with his associate planned the crime after watching the 'Asura' web series.

The accused did a reiki of the area around the victim's house for two years and even learnt how to break the vault and change the bike's number plate by watching YouTube videos. On August 10, the two, wearing masks, looted Rs eight crore including cash and jewellery from the elderly businessman's house in Kishanpur under Brahmapuri police station area and shot him and his wife. The woman died during treatment in the hospital on August 11.

SSP Rohit Singh Sajwan said that the accused watched 'Gangs of Wasseypur' and took inspiration from 'Asura' while planning the robbery. The accused have been identified as Priyanshu, a resident of Prempuri in Meerut who is an LLB student and his associate, Yash Sharma alias Yashu, a class 8 pass. Sajwan said that the accused have revealed that they planned the robbery for two years. Also, they did a reiki of the interiors of the house by posing as tenants looking for a room. The looted jewellery and cash have been recovered from their possession, Sajwan said.

After the incident, Priyanshu had kept the looted items in his house in Prempuri. They then reached Gauripura from the railway road intersection.

Police set up eight teams to investigate the case. They examined around 500 CCTV cameras to track the movement of the accused. The two said that they wanted to start a business with the looted cash and jewellery.

They told police that they looted the house in broad daylight as they were aware that the businessman and his wife were alone during the day since their son, daughter-in-law and grandchildren left in the morning. Also, the accused said that though the house was on the roadside, the area was deserted and there were no CCTVs inside the premises, so they selected this house.