The Quint’s investigation reveals that murdered Kanpur judge Pratibha Gautam’s husband Manu Abhishek Rajan, who is the prime suspect in the case, was active on matrimonial websites even when Pratibha was pregnant with his child.
This raises a vital question: Just three months before Pratibha’s murder, was Manu looking for another wife to replace her? Besides, according to Kanpur police, Manu even threatened to kill her in a WhatsApp message.
During our investigation into the matter, we found that Manu had two active accounts on Simplymarry.com, an online matrimonial portal.
The profiles, in the name of Manu Rajan, have pictures and details that match those on his Facebook page. Significantly, both the accounts – SMM2505182 and SMM2343080 – claim that Manu is unmarried even though he married Prathiba on 23 January this year.
Rajan Last Used Account Three Months Before Pratibha’s Death
In what will come as a surprise, one of these accounts was used as recently as three months back, even when Pratibha was pregnant with Abhishek’s child.
In the account, Manu describes himself as “ Very simple, caring and loving person. And i love my family most. Am looking for a nice and decent familier (sic) girl.”
Pregnancy The Reason Behind Pratibha’s Murder?
Kanpur police has disclosed that WhatsApp conversations between the woman judge and Manu reveal the growing tension between the two over Prathiba’s pregnancy. In one of the conversations, Manu even threatened to kill her.
Manu’s second account on the matrimonial website was last used on 14 May 2015. This, too, is surprising because a look at Pratibha’s Facebook account shows that the two had been together for almost two years.
Was Rajan Looking To Marry Again?
Our investigation into the case raises some important questions. Was Manu Abhishek Rajan, even after tying the knot with Pratibha Gautam, looking to marry again? In dowry death cases, the husband marrying again is quite common.
Will Kanpur Police Investigate the Matter?
With The Quint report raising these important questions, the onus now is on Kanpur police to investigate the facts placed before it.
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)