LUCKNOW, Nov. 1 -- A 24-year-old Sitapur trader who crawled 500 metres with a slit throat to write his killer's name on a slip of paper helped Barabanki police bust a Rs.5 lakh contract killing plot on Saturday. Four men have been arrested in connection with the abduction and murder, which was allegedly triggered by a Rs.14 lakh loan, an alleged Rs.10 lakh fraud in paddy procurement and a romantic rivalry. Manoj Maurya and Ankit Gupta allegedly masterminded the murder of Nitesh Kumar Maurya, who was abducted from Barabanki, taken to Sitapur and left with his throat slit. Despite his injuries, Nitesh managed to reach a roadside dhaba, where he wrote Manoj's name on a piece of paper before dying in hospital. Barabanki SP Raveena Tyagi said four accused - Manoj, Ankit, contract killer Dilip alias Deepu Kumar Verma and Amarendra Verma - were arrested near Bhagouli culvert on Saturday. A car allegedly used in the crime was also recovered. Police said Manoj had borrowed Rs.14 lakh from Nitesh to set up a reverse osmosis (RO) water plant. The two were also partners in paddy procurement, in which Manoj allegedly misappropriated another Rs.10 lakh. Nitesh's repeated demands for repayment reportedly led to a dispute. Investigators identified a second motive involving Ankit, who was also in contact with a woman with whom Nitesh allegedly had a relationship. Police said the financial dispute and personal rivalry prompted Manoj and Ankit to plan the murder. They allegedly offered Dilip Rs.5 lakh to kill Nitesh. Dilip, in turn, recruited Amarendra and two other men. The accused had reportedly tracked Nitesh's movements for nearly a month. Their plan was set in motion on October 29 after the woman allegedly informed Ankit over the phone that Nitesh was returning on his motorcycle after visiting his sister. Nitesh had left his home in Saraiya Mahipat Singh village on October 28 to visit his married sister in Lucknow's Bakshi Ka Talab area for Karwa Chauth. The next morning, he collected a gas cylinder from his plot in Andharkhera and tied it to his motorcycle. Acting on the tip-off, the accused intercepted him near Dr Rajendra Prasad Hospital, beyond Dafarpur crossing in Barabanki's Baddhupur police station area. They allegedly forced him into a four-wheeler, leaving his motorcycle and the gas cylinder behind. The attackers took him to a tubewell near Pannu Family Restaurant in Sitapur's Pisawan area, where they assaulted him and allegedly slit his throat before abandoning him. Nitesh, however, crawled through fields to a dhaba about 500 metres away. Unable to speak, he asked for paper and a pen, wrote Manoj's name and pleaded with people to take him to hospital. Pisawan police first took him to a community health centre before referring him to Sitapur district hospital, where he died around 3.10 pm on Thursday. His handwritten message became a crucial lead in the investigation. His family had also suspected abduction after finding his motorcycle abandoned near Dafarpur crossing. Three police teams used local intelligence, digital data and CCTV footage to reconstruct the crime and establish the accused persons' roles. Police said Dilip told investigators that he had bought the recovered car with money earned from the crime. The alleged involvement of the two other men recruited by him is being investigated. An FIR was registered at Baddhupur police station under sections 140(1) and 103(1) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS)....