Body of Missing Kanpur Woman Excavated from DM Complex | Latest news from India

A gym trainer has been arrested for allegedly punching a 32-year-old woman in the neck, strangling her with a rope and burying her body in Kanpur’s District Magistrate’s residential complex – the latter idea he took from a hit Hindi film – police officers said on Sunday .

The suspect, Vimal Soni (37), was arrested on Saturday. The crime took place four months ago when the victim Ekta Gupta went missing and her husband Rahul Gupta lodged a complaint. Police said the suspect told them the woman had an extramarital affair with him and did not approve of his engagement to another woman, although the victim’s family said Soni had kidnapped the woman for ransom.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (East) Shrawan Kumar Singh said Soni initially misled the police during interrogation and said that Ekta was in Kashmir looking for work. He later broke down and said he had killed her and dumped the body in the Ganga, the officer said.

“We found contradictions in his statements about where he disposed of the body. He later told us about the place,” said Singh.

Soni confessed that he killed Ekta in his car, dug a grave 10 feet deep and three feet wide and buried her there — inconspicuously. Officers said they were investigating whether the killing was premeditated, although Soni said he had been watching a Bollywood film Drishyam — in which the main character hides a body on the grounds of a police station to avoid suspicion — at least 20 times, which helped him with his modus operandi.

The spot where Ekta’s body was exhumed is five feet away from the campus watch post and is separated by a wall that runs between the clubhouse and the DM’s residence. The campus houses the residences of many judicial, administrative and police officers. The body was exhumed around 2 am after four hours of excavation in the presence of forensic experts and Ekta’s husband Rahul Gupta.

“We are probing whether the killing was premeditated as the accused had dug a 10-feet deep grave to ensure quick decomposition of the body,” Additional Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) Harish Chander said.

According to police, Ekta came out of the Green Park gym, about 100 meters from her house in Civil Lines area, around 6:30 am on June 24 and got into Sonia’s car in the parking lot, as seen in CCTV footage. During the argument, Soni punched her, after which she lost consciousness. He then strangled the victim and flattened her seat so she could not be seen. On June 25, police found the car near Sonia’s sister’s house in Juhi Army Camp, about 7 km from the gym. According to senior officers, a piece of cloth, a rope, a broken SIM card and a hair clip were found in his trunk.

The police studied his call recording details and traced his phone near Sarsai Ghat around 7:45 am, not far from the DM’s residence. At 8:20 am, his location was traced near Jari Baba Parao, after which Soni remained incognito. Sonia was also seen in CCTV footage from the compound, but Ekta’s family claimed that these details were not addressed.

DCP Singh said Soni was not using his phone at all during the escape. “He left ₹2000 from an ATM in Agra and returned to Kanpur after running out of money. His location was traced to Mall Road from where he was arrested,” Singh added.

Meanwhile, Ekta’s husband Rahul, a 35-year-old businessman, denied claims that his wife had an extra-marital affair and said the suspect spiked her with a protein shake to kidnap her for money.

Soni was named in an FIR lodged with the Kotwali police on June 24 by her husband for kidnapping. Soni was initially hiding in Amritsar after spending some time in Gwalior. The family of the deceased collected information about his whereabouts from his relatives and passed those details on to the police, people familiar with the matter said.

Police did not respond to inquiries about the family’s allegations, despite repeated requests.

“We kept saying that he kidnapped and killed her, but the police kept deflecting it and saying it was a romantic relationship. I have written to everyone from the commissioner to the prime minister’s office, but nothing has happened,” Rahul said while talking to reporters after Ekta was found. The victim’s family also claimed that the evidence found in the car did not pass forensic examination later.

Police also said Soni took the body in her car to the officers’ club through a gate 10 feet from where she was buried. However, the width of the gate is 1676mm and the width of the car is 1680mm, so it is not clear how the suspect managed it. People familiar with the matter also said the club’s gate was also locked from the inside, raising questions about how Soni opened it at 7:15 a.m. without anyone noticing.

Soni was the personal trainer of several IPS and IAS officers for 15 years, the people said, adding that he had been sacked from various posts in the past for misconduct.

ACP Chander said that the police are investigating whether Soni acted alone or was assisted in the crime. “We are thoroughly investigating the case and all sides will be covered,” he said.

Soni was produced before a magistrate on Sunday and remanded in custody. “The police will ensure that the accused is tried in a fast-track court,” the DCP added.