A new twist has emerged in the sensational double murder and suicide case that rocked Lucknow on Thursday.
Manas Vajpayee, 38, had shot his wife Divya Mishra outside the ICICI bank in Gomti Nagar where she worked. Manas later also killed his sister before turning the gun on himself.
Police sources have indicated that they are now investigating an alleged demand for Rs 1 crore by Divya Mishra as part of settlement of the divorce case.
Manas and Divya had married 12 years ago and were living separately for over a year. Divya had filed for divorce last year and had allegedly demanded an alimony of Rs 1 crore.
Read | CCTV Shows Moment Lucknow Man Shot Wife Outside ICICI Bank
Police sources told NDTV that the investigators have recovered document pertaining to the divorce proceedings. These documents, as per sources, contain details of demands made by Divya Mishra as part of the settlement.
The divorce case had come up in the local court just two days before the murder and the alimony demand had come up during the hearing, which escalated the dispute between the estranged couple, sources said.
The police are now investigating the financial dispute as the motive for the murder.
Manas and Divya’s relationship also allegedly deteriorated over his sister Shiva Vajpayee who was dealing with mental health issues. Shiva lived with the couple and Divya allegedly did not like that.
The couple reportedly had regular fights over his sister’s mental health.
Read | ‘He Thrashed Her Over Rotten Tomato’: Sister Of Lucknow Woman Shot By Husband
Divya’s sister Pragya Mishra, who is a well-known Youtuber, had on Friday alleged that Manas used to beat Divya over little issues such as a rotten tomato delivered by Blinkit.
Calling Manas a “psycho”, Pragya posted: “I knew the murderer used to be cruel to my sister. That’s why she wanted to be separated from him. If a tomato ordered from Blinkit turned out to be bad, he would beat her over it.”
Pragya also questioned how Manas got access to revolvers with which he committed the crimes.
आज दिव्या का पोस्टमॉर्टम नहीं हो पाया सुबह 9-10 बजे का वक्त दिया गया है…मम्मी को अब भी बताने की हिम्मत नहीं जुटा पाई..दिव्या की हालत क्रिटिकल है ये झूठ बताकर बगल में सुला दिया है..पहली बार लग रहा है कि सच कहना कितना मुश्किल होता है…वो पोस्टमॉर्मट हाउस के फ्रीजर में है..ये सच… pic.twitter.com/YLC0WYDqB7
— Pragya Mishra (@PragyaLive) August 20, 2026
On Thursday, Manas, who worked with the SBI bank, called Divya outside the ICICI bank where she worked, spoke to her for a few minutes, and then shot her. Divya was rushed to the hospital, where she was declared brought dead, police said.
The accused then returned home and killed his 28-year-old sister who was reportedly dealing with mental health issues.
Minutes later, Manas killed himself.
Before killing himself, Manas had put a WhatsApp status announcing that he had killed his wife and sister. “Today I killed my wife who cheated on me. Now I have to kill myself and my sister… her sister Pragya and Bharat know everything,” read the WhatsApp status.
(With Inputs From Vivek Shahi)
