LUCKNOW, July 15 -- The family of the 22-year-old drone innovator and scientist, who was found dead under mysterious circumstances in a five-star hotel in Lucknow, on Wednesday alleged that he had been receiving death threats over an Rs.85-lakh drone project and appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and chief minister Yogi Adityanath to ensure justice.

The deceased's younger brother broke down while speaking to reporters outside the post-mortem house and accused a Noida-based man of threatening the young innovator over a financial dispute linked to the project.

"We suspect the role of a Noida-based man. My brother was working on an Rs.85-lakh drone project. About Rs.62 lakh had already been paid, but later the project was withdrawn. ...