Lucknow, October 22: A day after 22-year-old Abhijit Yadav, son of Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council Chairman Ramesh Yadav, was found dead, the Lucknow police has made the first arrest in the case. Based on the preliminary evidence, Meera Yadav, the second wife of Ramesh, was held for killing her son Abhijit.

Superintendent of Police (east) Sarvesh Mishra, while speaking to reporters, said there was sufficient circumstantial evidence to suggest that Meera has murdered her son. Leads obtained through interrogation has further allowed the police to charge Meera as the prime suspect. Abhijit Yadav, Son of UP Legislative Council Chairman Ramesh Yadav, Found Dead in Lucknow.

On being questioned, Meera reportedly told the investigators that she had an argument with her son on Saturday night. As the altercation escalated, she ended up strangulating Abhijit with a cloth till death. The deceased was easily overpowered as he was drunk, Mishra added.

The crime was committed as Ramesh's official residence, located at the legislators' quarters in Darul Shafa. When the incident occurred, Ramesh was out of town, while his wife, Abhijit and elder son Abhishek were present at the residence.

After the murder, Abhishek and Meera called the police and claimed that Abhijit has died of ill-health. While the case was initially suspected to be one of cardiac arrest, a post-mortem report on Sunday clarified that Abhijit had died of strangulation.

Ramesh, who returned on Sunday, claimed he had no idea of the incident. "There was no dispute in the family," he added.

The body was handed over to the family for cremation yesterday. Chief MInister Yogi Adityanath and his predecessor, Akhilesh Yadav, condoled the demise.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Oct 22, 2018 03:49 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).