A horrifying crime in Lucknow has left residents shaken after a young man accused of k*lling his father appeared in court with an emotionless expression and a brief, unsettling response to questions from reporters.
The accused, Akshat Pratap Singh, was produced in a local court on Thursday. When media personnel asked him about the brutal k*lling of his father, he calmly claimed that the incident happened by mistake. When further questioned about how such a serious crime could occur accidentally, he chose to remain silent.
Reporters also asked whether his younger sister had any role in the crime. Akshat quietly shook his head, denying her involvement and indicating that she had nothing to do with the incident. Wearing a maroon pyjama, a sweatshirt and a surgical mask covering his face, Akshat was escorted by police under heavy security. After the court proceedings, he was sent to judicial custody.
According to the Lucknow Police Commissionerate, the crime took place in the early hours of February 20 at the family’s residence in Ashiyana’s Sector L. The victim, Manvendra Singh, was 50 years old. Police said the accused allegedly shot his father around 4:30 am using a licensed .315 bore rifle. Investigators believe the incident was triggered by a dispute over the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET), as the father had reportedly been pressurising his son to prepare for the competitive medical entrance examination.
A few days later, on February 23, Akshat went to the Ashiyana police station and filed a written complaint, claiming that his father had gone missing. However, officers grew suspicious during questioning because his statements did not match the available facts. After sustained interrogation, police said the accused eventually broke down and admitted that he had shot his father following a heated argument related to the NEET exam.
Investigators revealed disturbing details about what allegedly happened after the murder. Officials said the accused used knives and saws to cut the body into pieces in an attempt to hide the crime and destroy evidence. The severed hands and legs were packed in polythene bags and thrown into bushes near a canal in Nadarganj. Meanwhile, the torso was hidden inside a blue plastic drum kept on the ground floor of the house.
Police also said that after committing the crime, Akshat Pratap Singh tried to mislead people around him. He reportedly told neighbours that his father had gone to Delhi for urgent work and later filed a false missing complaint to divert suspicion.
Following his confession, police carried out searches and recovered the torso from the plastic drum as well as the severed limbs from the canal area. Investigators also found two knives and two saws near the Transport Nagar railway track, where they were allegedly discarded. In addition, officers recovered a burnt woolen blanket and ashes from the nearby Anora jungle, which they believe were connected to the attempt to destroy evidence.
The brutal nature of the crime and the alleged motive behind it have shocked the city, turning the case into one of the most disturbing incidents reported in Lucknow in recent times.
