Jaipur: Even before investigators piece together the alleged conspiracy behind the killing of 45-year-old Neeraj Sharma, her family has now cast doubt on another death — that of her husband, Vijay Sharma — claiming it too needs to be probed.On Tuesday, police alleged that Neeraj’s 23-year-old daughter, Ayushi Sharma, conspired with relatives to have her mother killed.Now, the victim’s brother, Rakesh Sharma, alleged that Ayushi, with the help of her paternal cousins, may also have orchestrated the death of her father, Vijay Sharma, a lower division clerk (LDC). The family has urged police to probe whether Neeraj’s jewellery and cash were allegedly stolen to finance the contract killing and has demanded an impartial investigation into both deaths.Neeraj, a resident of Ravindra Nagar in Pratap Nagar, was allegedly run over by an SUV while returning home after dropping her son at coaching classes around 4.45pm on July 3. Police later claimed that her daughter, along with her paternal uncle and cousin, conspired to eliminate her by hiring contract killers for Rs 7 lakh. Police said Ayushi’s motive was to get a compassionate govt job in place of her mother and grab the parental property. Seven accused have been arrested for the alleged murder so far.According to the family, the circumstances surrounding Vijay Sharma’s death appear suspicious. They claimed Vijay had been recovering after treatment for a brain haemorrhage when Ayushi and her cousin, Balram, allegedly got him discharged from hospital and shifted him to an undisclosed location.For several weeks, family members were allegedly prevented from meeting him and were repeatedly told he was admitted to an ICU. He was later brought home, where he subsequently died.Rakesh alleged that Ayushi’s objective throughout was to gain control of the family’s assets.According to the family, Balram, who was unemployed and academically weak, had received financial and educational support from Vijay, who helped him complete an LLB degree. During that period, Balram allegedly devised a plan to acquire the family’s property by influencing Ayushi.Rakesh alleged that Balram believed Ayushi would secure a compassionate government job after Vijay’s death and inherit a share of the family’s property. However, following Vijay’s death, Neeraj accepted the compassionate appointment herself, a move that allegedly became a source of conflict.When asked about the allegations, a senior police officer said teams were searching for Balram, who remains absconding, and added that investigators could not give Ayushi the benefit of doubt at this stage.“She has shown no remorse over killing her mother. She was very methodical and cold in planning the conspiracy,” the officer said, adding that police could neither confirm nor rule out any role Ayushi may have had in her father’s death until the investigation was complete.
