LUCKNOW, Aug. 23 -- The preliminary investigation into the August 20 double murder-suicide that left SBI officer Manas Bajpai, his wife Divya Mishra and Manas's sister Sheeba dead has revealed that Bajpai had allegedly procured three country-made .32-bore pistols around two weeks before the incident, police sources said on Saturday. The recovery and procurement trail of the three weapons has emerged as a key aspect of the probe into the sequence of events preceding the shootings, according to highly placed sources familiar with the investigation. Investigators are now examining whether Bajpai planned the killings in advance and whether the three weapons were intended for separate targets. Sources said the preliminary theory being examined by the police is that one weapon was intended to be used against his wife Divya, another against Sheeba and the third was to be used by Bajpai himself before he died by suicide. The police, however, are yet to establish conclusively the circumstances in which the three weapons were procured, the persons through whom they were obtained and whether all three were carried to or used at the scene of the incident. All three pistols have been sent for ballistic examination, investigators said. The forensic examination is expected to establish whether the weapons were functional and whether they were used in the firing that resulted in the deaths. The weapons will also undergo striations and other forensic comparison tests. Investigators will compare the markings left on bullets and cartridge cases with the individual characteristics of the firearm barrels to determine whether any of the recovered pistols was used to fire the shots recovered as evidence from the crime scene. The probe is also looking into how a person with no known criminal record was able to procure three illegal country-made pistols within a short period. Police have already been examining Bajpai's movements, contacts and communications in the days before the shooting. Investigators are also scrutinising his interactions with a lawyer from Sitapur, who, according to the probe, was in contact with Bajpai before the incident. The lawyer is likely to be questioned as part of efforts to establish how and from whom Bajpai procured the weapons....