VARANASI: Driven by vengeance for the 2023 abduction and murder of his nine-year-old son over a land dispute, a 35-year-old man amassed over Rs 4 lakh, purchased a truck, and on Dec 8, 2025, rammed it into the SUV of the accused in a calculated attempt to kill him and stage the crime as an accident.According to police, Mangal Pal’s plan initially worked — the death was treated as a road accident and the investigation was deprioritized. However, when the investigation officer at Ghorawal police station recently pursued the case after a tip-off, he uncovered technical evidence and an audio clip pointing to a conspiracy.Sonbhadra SP Abhishek Verma said the accused, Rajesh Yadav, had been jailed in the kidnapping and murder case, but secured bail within a few months and had begun the process of becoming a lawyer.After checking call detail records (CDR) based on tip-offs from informers, it became clear this was not an accident but a premeditated murder by Pal. The finding pushed Ghorawal police to dig deeper into the conspiracy. They learned that the deceased, Rajesh Yadav, was the prime accused in the March 2023 kidnapping and murder of Pal’s only son. Yadav had been jailed but secured bail within a few months of his arrest and had begun the process of becoming a lawyer.Harboring a grudge against Yadav, Pal started exploring ways to eliminate him by any means. Finally, he arranged Rs 4.3 lakh and bought a truck. He sought the help of his cousin Abhay, a truck driver.The SP said the truck was purchased on Nov 12, 2025, but was never used for transportation. Parking it near Abhay’s house, Pal began tracking Yadav, who drove to the district court daily in his SUV. Pal and Abhay finalized their plan to ram the SUV with the truck on December 8, 2025. In the collision in Ghorawal area, Yadav, who was at the wheel, died.Once the investigation established that the truck was purchased solely to murder Rajesh, the police began searching for Pal and Abhay. On Friday, officers arrested Abhay, but Pal remains absconding. The SP said a Rs 25,000 cash reward has been announced for information leading to Pal’s arrest, and a special team has been formed to apprehend him soon.Police said both the brothers have no criminal record.
