Lucknow: A 28-year-old man was allegedly murdered over a relationship dispute by a married couple and two of the woman’s relatives, with the body stuffed into a plastic sack and dumped near a canal in Bahraich district to conceal the crime.
Police said the relationship had been a point of conflict for around 18 months, prompting earlier complaints at Malhipur police station and to the UP Police women’s helpline 1090. Akash was called to Poonam’s residence in Shikari Chaura village, under Malhipur police station limits, on the evening of Oct 10, according to investigators. Police said Poonam contacted him and asked him to come around 7.30 pm. The case surfaced on Oct 11 when locals noticed the sack and alerted police. A case was registered at Matera police station on Oct 13.
Based on questioning of the arrested accused and analysis of electronic evidence, police said Poonam’s husband Rajkumar Gupta , along with Poonam, her father Phoolchand Gupta and brother Anuj Kumar Gupta, allegedly attacked Akash. Akash’s brother, Vikas Kasaudhan, later identified the body and told police the family had last spoken to him a day before he went missing. Police said CCTV footage, call detail records and other electronic evidence pointed to the accused.
Police have arrested the woman and her husband, while the other two accused are absconding. After he arrived, a confrontation allegedly took place. The four are accused of strangling him with an electrical wire and beating him with sticks, leading to his death. As the body could not be immediately identified, police circulated pamphlets with the deceased’s photograph.
The victim, Akash Gupta, a resident of Gandhariya Buzurg village in Basti district who worked in Mumbai, was allegedly in a relationship with Poonam Devi, a married woman from Shravasti district.