LUCKNOW, July 22 -- The Lucknow police on Monday apprehended five young men in connection with a 22-year-old youth's brutal murder that took place nearly two months ago. The crime stemmed from a longstanding grudge that persisted for nearly a decade, initially ignited by a slap, said police. On May 22, Manoj was beaten with iron rods and sticks in broad daylight near Manmeet Dairy in Kalyanpur. The assailants struck his head relentlessly until he collapsed, ultimately succumbing to his injuries during treatment, said police "The Indira Nagar police, acting on surveillance footage and confidential informants, cracked the murder case and apprehended the accused on July 20," said DCP (east) Shashank Singh. Those arrested were the main accused Anup alias Sonu Kashyap, 21, a delivery boy and his friends - Sunny Kashyap, 20, a delivery boy, Salman, 30, a driver, Ranjit Kumar, 21, shopping centre employee and Rehmat Ali, 25, a resident of Kalyanpur. "The police recovered the murder weapon (iron rod) and a motorcycle used in the crime. CCTV footage, witness statements and forensic leads helped nail the suspects," said ACP (Ghazipur) Anindya Vikram Singh. "During interrogation, Sonu confessed that Manoj had slapped his mother in a long-forgotten neighbourhood dispute, a case that was then registered as an NCR at Gudamba police station under sections 323 and 504 IPC," said the DCP According to police, both the victim and the accused were children when the incident happened in 2015, and the victim's family had moved out to another place on rent after the dispute. "After years, when the accused learned that Manoj sold coconut water near Munshipulia crossing, he planned to take revenge," the DCP added. Sonu told his friends, "He, along with his family, had hit my mother. I want him dead." The group agreed to carry out the attack, with Salman volunteering to provide iron rod, said cops. On the day of the murder, Manoj was returning from work when he was attacked by the group. Sonu took the rod and struck the first blow to Manoj's head. The others joined in, assaulting him before fleeing, thinking he was dead. Two more accused, Rehmat and Sachin, fled after witnessing the violence. The accused had conducted reccee, identified a quiet corner to attack and held a post-crime debrief before dispersing, said SK Tiwari, SHO, Indira Nagar police station....