LUCKNOW: A city businessman's plan to escape the nagging lenders through a stage-managed attack-and-loot bid turned awry when one of the hired assailants shot him dead. According to reports, budding businessman Karan Gupta (24) was shot dead by unidentified miscreants in Alambagh on Monday. A day later, police revealed that killers were hired by Gupta himself to stage an attack, so that he could show his lenders that since he was looted, he was unable to pay them back Rs 80 lakh. But, things didn't worked out as per plan.Lucknow police made these startling disclosures after arrest of four miscreants involved in the attack. Those arrested were identified as Priyanshu Sharma aka Kallu, Ashish Bhartiya, Abhishek Gautam and Ajay Kumar Lodhi. Sharma worked at Gupta's mobile showroom in Naka Hindola. Police say he was the mastermind behind the entire plan.Police say Lodhi was the shooter in the incident and hired for Rs 1.5 lakh and Bharatiya arranged a pistol for Rs 40,000 from a Faizabad resident and provided it to Lodhi for the 'job'. Police recovered a pistol, 2 live cartridges, Rs 8,260, three mobile sets, a motorcycle and victim's bag which the miscreants had looted at the time committing the crime.Lucknow SSP Deepak Kumar said Gupta had taken a loan of about Rs 80 lakh from different businessmen through money pooling scheme and had not paid them back. "Gupta was under pressure and he plotted an attack and loot bid on himself as per the advice of his employee Sharma. Both started looking for right persons who could execute the fake shooting . They eventually hired Lodhi through Bhartiya and Gautam," he said.The SSP said Gupta had asked Lodhi to shoot him at his shoulder while Bhartiya had to loot his bag. "However, as the drama started playing out near Carriage and Wagon Shop in Alambagh, Lodhi misjudged his aim when he opened fire at Gupta and hit him at his chest. After this, both Lodhi and Bharatiya developed cold feet and fled the scene," the district police chief said.Some passers-by who saw Gupta lying in a poll of blood near Carriage and Wagon Shop, informed the police about 'an accident'. Alambagh CO Sanjeev Sinha said it was a blind murder case and the police got the clue when it started the investigation by collecting call details of Gupta's phone.Gupta had a talk with Bhartiya on a number of times on the day of the incident. The surveillance cell further worked on the lead and found that cell numbers of Sharma and Bharatiya were also active on the day and they had a talk with Gupta several times.Sensing a foul play in the entire conversations, the police rounded Sharma and Bharatiya and recovered their mobile sets.An audio clip was found recorded in Sharma’s cell phone and when the police played it everything became crystal clear,” said Sinha.He said on the information given by Sharma and Bharatiya, Gautam, and Lodhi were nabbed. They owned up the crime.“ The audio clip is admissible in court. We will send it to forensic lab to testify it. The police will also send the recovered pistol and cartridges for ballistic test at FSL,” the CO said.

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