Kanpur murder case: Victim’s husband demands CCTV footage from DM compound

Rahul Gupta, the husband of Ekta Gupta—whose body was found buried in the officers’ club adjacent to the district magistrate’s (DM) residence in Kanpur—has raised serious concerns about the police investigation into her death.

“Gym trainer Vimal Soni, the accused, had close ties with the club and officers around the DM residence,” Rahul stated, urging the police to release CCTV footage from the residence and compound for June 24. “This is the only way to determine how Soni carried and buried the body,” he added, suggesting that the police are deliberately avoiding an investigation in the DM compound, which he believes is essential to uncovering the truth.

According to officials at Green Park Stadium, Soni was recruited by the district sports development committee, led by the DM, eight years ago with a monthly stipend of ₹15,000. His contract was renewed every 11 months, and he was assigned to the officers’ club in the DM compound to train officials after his shift at the gym. “He would go to the club after his work here at Green Park,” an official noted.

Rahul visited the DM compound on June 24 to locate Soni but claims that club employees misled him. “I was told Soni was on leave and in Delhi with medical reports of his father, but CCTV footage shows him in the DM compound at 8 am, where he stayed for 35 minutes.”

Rahul, however, insists that releasing the CCTV footage is essential not to implicate anyone, but to uncover the truth. “I want to know where he killed her, why he killed her, and how he carried the body unnoticed in one of Kanpur’s most secure campuses.”

On June 24, Rahul filed a missing person report at Kotwali police station, after which the police registered a kidnapping FIR when Ekta’s car was found outside his sister’s home in the Juhi Military Camp locality.

“We believe he had inside help within the DM compound. Employees like Dhirendra Parihar gave us false information, and we caught Soni’s sister speaking to someone in the DM residence whose number is saved as Kotwali. The police’s reluctance to follow these leads within the DM campus is troubling,” he added. Notably, this murder case falls under the jurisdiction of Kotwali police station.

Meanwhile, the police have yet to determine a motive for the murder after four months of investigation. So far, they only have the accused’s confession, which may not be admissible in court, according to Rahul’s brother-in-law, Shantanu Mishra.

According to the police timeline, Ekta was seen entering Green Park through Gate 2 at 5:53 am and leaving the gym at 7:02 am, but she did not exit the stadium. Soni’s car was seen leaving Gate 2 at 7:28 am and was captured on camera at the DM compound turn at 8 am.

DCP East Shravan Kumar Singh declined to comment on the family’s allegations but assured the family that the police were actively working to unravel the mystery behind the case and were seeking custody of the accused for further investigation.