Murdered by gym instructor, UP businessman's wife's body recovered from Kanpur’s VVIP area after 4 months
Kanpur (UP): Police have found the body of a woman near the Kanpur District Magistrate's bungalow, four months after her alleged murder, media reports said.
The woman had been reported missing on June 24, and investigators later confirmed her death.
Vimal Soni, a gym trainer from the Green Park area, admitted during police questioning to burying the body of the businessman's wife in a government officials' residential area, reported NDTV.
From L to R: Victim Ekta Gupta, accused Vikram Soni
According to an India Today report, police said that the woman, identified as 32-year-old Ekta Gupta, was in a relationship with the gym trainer.
Soni, a resident of Kanpur's Raipurwa locality, led police to the location where the body was unearthed.
DCP (North Kanpur) Shravan Kumar Singh told reporters that the woman was allegedly disappointed as the man was soon going to tie the knot, according to the NDTV report.
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— POLICE COMMISSIONERATE KANPUR NAGAR (@kanpurnagarpol) October 27, 2024
On June 24, she went to meet Soni at the gym after 20 days of absence and the two had left the place into the car to have a conversation.
However, an argument erupted between them and the man punched the woman in the neck, following which she fainted. He then murdered her.
According to an India Today report, police sources revealed that Soni murdered the woman and buried her body near the Kanpur District Magistrate’s residence, inside a club.
According to the source, Soni got the idea from the Bollywood movie Drishyam, in which actor Ajay Devgn’s character buries evidence in a high-profile area to avoid police suspicion. Inspired by this tactic, Soni chose the prominent location, believing authorities would overlook a crime in such a well-guarded area, the report said.
Soni had been arrested by police in connection with the case after the woman's husband, Rahul Gupta, filed a complaint against him.
Gupta also denied that his wife had a relationship with Soni.
"There was no romantic relationship, and it was a case of kidnapping. We filed a report about the kidnapping and provided information through the media twice in four months," Gupta was quoted as saying by India Today's sister organisation Aajtak.
Singh stated that tracking Soni was challenging as he did not use a mobile phone.
Investigation teams were sent to Pune, Agra, and Punjab in the search.
According to the report, police are also looking into whether Soni took the jewellery the woman had been wearing.
The case, registered at the Kotwali district police station, is under investigation.
Legal proceedings are underway as all potential leads are explored, police added.
Meanwhile, the Kanpur Police has launched a drive for verification of gym trainers across the city
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