Lucknow, India – A tragic incident occurred in the city of Lucknow when a 30-year-old delivery agent, Bharat Prajapati, was killed after being deceived into delivering smartphones to a customer’s residence. The smartphones, valued at approximately 100,000 rupees, became the motive for a deadly robbery that led to Prajapati’s murder on September 23, according to police reports.
Deputy Commissioner of Police Shashank Singh disclosed that the main suspect, identified as Gajanan, along with his associate Akash, strategically lured Prajapati to the home of another accomplice, Himanshu Kanaujia, under the guise of a routine delivery. Kanaujia had ordered the Google Pixel and Vivo phones via Flipkart, choosing the cash-on-delivery option.
After Prajapati went missing for two days, his family filed a missing person report on September 25, prompting police to initiate an investigation. During their probe, detectives managed to trace Gajanan’s phone number from Prajapati’s call records, which played a crucial role in cracking the case.
Akash was apprehended and during interrogation, he confessed to their sinister plan. He revealed that they intended to rob Prajapati of the smartphones. After inviting him into Kanaujia’s house, they attacked him, ultimately strangling him to death. The culprits then concealed his body in a sack and disposed of it in the Indira Canal.
Currently, the search for Prajapati’s body is ongoing, with the assistance of the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), in a determined effort to recover it from the Indira Canal. While Kanaujia and Akash are now under arrest, Gajanan is still at large, with authorities conducting a widespread manhunt to capture him.
This incident sheds light once again on the perils faced by delivery workers. Previous incidents include a food delivery worker being murdered in Bengaluru in 2021 during a robbery, and a delivery agent in Noida being fatally stabbed in 2022 over a payment dispute.
These series of attacks underscore the urgent need for enhanced security measures and protective protocols to ensure the safety of delivery personnel, who routinely face risks in their line of duty. The current event echoes a growing concern over the safety of workers in this expanding industry, pressing companies to reconsider and strengthen their safety measures to protect their employees.