LUCKNOW: What initially started off as a routine cow slaughter seizure on the city’s outskirts spiralled into a dark psychological thriller—one involving betrayal within marriage, burner phones, fake identities and a meticulously scripted attempt to send a man to jail not once, but twice. The mastermind was the woman, whose arrest was earlier attempted inside the High Court premises. “The motive was personal. To pressure her husband into divorcing her,” said police while tracing the plot to a Jan 14 event when acting on a tip-off, allegedly made to Bajrang Dal, police in Kakori intercepted an online porter vehicle near Durgaganj and found 12 kg of beef. The driver disclosed that the delivery was booked in the name of Wasif, a paper factory owner from Aminabad. While Wasif flatly denied placing any such order, the surveillance checks showed that the OTP used to authenticate the delivery was generated on his mobile number. Then came the twist. CCTV footage from Wasif ’s residence showed that, at the precise moment the OTP was used, he was inside the bathroom, while his phone lay unattended outside. “That single frame changed the direction of the entire investigation,” a senior officer said. Investigators soon uncovered that the beef consignment was deliberately planted to frame Wasif. The probe revealed that his wife allegedly conspired with her lover, Amaan, a Bhopal resident, to execute the plan. “Amaan—using the husband’s identity documents- —booked the online porter from Aminabad to Kakori. The beef was transported from Bhopal, concealed inside a cardboard box, and stealthily loaded onto the vehicle. To ensure swift police interception, Amaan allegedly tipped off Bajrang Dal members under a fake identity of Rahul,” said inspector Satish Chandra Rathore of Kakori police station. On Dec 31, Amaan allegedly travelled to Lucknow, where the duo procured a SIM card registered in the name of a roadside beggar. The SIM was used solely to book the consignment. Police also traced the origins of the relationship. The woman and Amaan connected on Instagram in 2022, and what began as casual chats soon turned into an affair. In Sept last year, nearly 20 kg of beef was recovered from a black Mahindra Thar parked at a multi-level parking facility in Hazratganj. Wasif, the registered owner, was arrested and sent to jail. It later emerged that the beef was allegedly planted inside the vehicle early in the morning while Wasif was away. “Wasif came out of jail quickly that time, but wife wanted him behind bars for a longer period. That was when the second, far more sophisticated conspiracy was put into motion,” inspector Rathore said. Police arrested Amaan, while the role of Wasif ’s wife was firmly established during the investigation. “She will be arrested soon,” the inspector added.
