Raipur
Raipur police arrested a lawyer, his wife, and two others on Wednesday for the murder of a client over a financial dispute. The victim, identified as Kishore Paikra, 58, was found dead in a tin trunk near Deprapara Nala, behind Wonderland Water Park, in the DD Nagar area on June 23, 2025. His body was covered in cement, and his legs were tied.
The main accused, Ankit Upadhyay, a lawyer by profession, and his wife Shivani Sharma, allegedly killed Paikra in a rented accommodation in Inderprastha Colony, DD Nagar. Upadhyay had reportedly used Rs 30 lakh belonging to Paikra for his personal expenses, and the victim was pressuring him to return the money.
Police found the tin trunk following a tip-off about a foul smell emanating from it. A joint team from the Anti-Crime and Cyber Unit and DD Nagar police station examined the scene. Inspector General of Police, Raipur Range, Amresh Mishra, and Deputy Inspector General cum Senior Superintendent of Police, Dr Lal Umed Singh, formed five separate teams to investigate the blind murder.
During the investigation, CCTV footage from Indraprastha Colony showed an Alto car carrying three men and a woman with a large trunk. The car’s registration number led police to its owner, who stated he had sold the vehicle to Ankit Upadhyay a month earlier. Further inquiries revealed that the tin trunk was purchased by the accused from Shabbir Steel Trunk Factory in Gole Bazar. The shop owner, Habbu Bhai, confirmed that a man and a woman bought the trunk on June 22, 2025, and made an online payment. Cyber cell analysis of the online transaction led police to Shivani Sharma. An auto driver, who transported the trunk, identified the drop-off location as Room D/321 in Indraprastha Colony, which was rented by Upadhyay and Sharma a week prior to the incident.
Police traced Upadhyay and Sharma to Delhi, where they had fled after committing the crime. They were apprehended at Indira Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi, as their flight from Raipur landed. A Raipur Crime Branch team was dispatched to Delhi to take them into custody.
During interrogation, Ankit Upadhyay confessed that Kishore Paikra was his client. Paikra had sold his house in Azad Chowk for Rs 50 lakh in 2015-16 but had not handed over possession to the buyer, instead filing a case against him in court. Upadhyay told Paikra he would help him reclaim the house through the High Court and, in return, took money in various instalments for different tasks. Upadhyay also sold Paikra’s house in Bajrang Nagar for ₹30 lakh and used the proceeds for himself. Paikra repeatedly demanded his money back and often taunted Upadhyay, leading to the murder plot.
Upadhyay created a fake Aadhaar card with a Korba address and used it to purchase an old Alto car (CG 04 B 7744) for ₹60,000 from a resident of Baliyara village in Dhamtari. He then rented the room in Indraprastha Colony on June 19, 2025. On June 21, 2025, Upadhyay picked up Paikra from his home, falsely claiming his house needed cleaning and asking him to stay at the rented accommodation. His wife, Shivani Sharma, joined them later.
Around 10 am, Ankit Upadhyay sat on Paikra’s chest and strangled him, while Shivani Sharma held his legs. Upadhyay also stabbed Paikra in the throat with a knife. After the murder, they left the body in the room and returned home. In the evening, they returned to the room, cleaned the blood, put the body in a red trolley bag, sprayed perfume, and locked the room. That night, they ordered a tin trunk from a shop in Golbazar.
On June 22, 2025, around 9:30 am, they disposed of the murder weapon and blood-stained towels in a drain near Bhathagaon. In the afternoon, they collected the tin trunk from Golbazar, paid online, and took it to the rented room in an auto. To contain the smell, they bought cement from a hardware store and poured it over the body in the trolley bag before sealing it in the tin trunk.
On June 23, 2025, around 8 am, they tried to move the heavy trunk but could not. They then called two acquaintances, Suryakant Yadu and Vinay Yadu, for help. The four went to the room at 9:35 am, covering their faces with scarves. Ankit Upadhyay, Suryakant Yadu, and Vinay Yadu carried the trunk down using the lift, while Shivani Sharma took the stairs. They loaded the trunk into the Alto car’s boot and drove to the deserted spot to dispose of it. Afterward, Upadhyay and Vinay Yadu left the Alto at a garage in Kushalpur, Purani Basti, for denting and painting. Shivani Sharma took an Ather vehicle and Suryakant Yadu took a Joy electric vehicle and returned home.
Police have registered a case against the accused under Sections 103(1), 238A, 61(2), and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) at DD Nagar police station.
The arrested individuals are:
- Ankit Upadhyay, 31, son of Ramaniket Upadhyay, resident of Manjeet Green City, Satyam Vihar Colony, House No. 383, Lane No. 4, Raipura, DD Nagar, Raipur.
- Shivani Sharma, 24, wife of Ankit Upadhyay, resident of Manjeet Green City, Satyam Vihar Colony, House No. 383, Lane No. 4, Raipura, DD Nagar, Raipur.
- Vinay Yadu, 23, a resident of Yadavpara, near Shiv Shakti Kirana Store, Janjagriti Chowk, Raipura, DD Nagar, Raipur.
- Suryakant Yadu, 21, a resident of Mahadev Ghat, near Visarjan Kund, in front of Kanya Chhatrawas, Raipura, DD Nagar, Raipur.
The Senior Superintendent of Police has announced a cash reward for the team involved in the arrests.
