Ekta suffered 20 broken bones from nose to jaw before her death: Sources

Ekta Gupta, the wife of a prominent businessman in Kanpur whose body was found four months after her murder, had suffered about 20 fractures between her nose and jaw after the prime suspect punched her before choking her to death, according to health and police officials aware of the case details

Ekta Gupta, the wife of a prominent businessman in Kanpur whose body was found four months after her murder, had suffered about 20 fractures between her nose and jaw after the prime suspect punched her before choking her to death, according to health and police officials aware of the case details.

The premises of a high-security area from where Ekta’s remains were exhumed, in Kanpur. (File)

New details in the case disproved the claims of the suspect, Vishal Soni—a trainer at the gym where Gupta worked out, that his punch landed on her throat, the officials said, adding Soni, instead, forcibly hit her face.

“It has come to light that she was struck with brute force around the nose region, resulting in 20 broken bones from the nose down to the jaw,” confirmed two officials familiar with the details of her post-mortem report.

Authorities were now planning to send her mortal remains for DNA testing even as they were seeking Soni’s police custody. A court will hear the police’s application on Tuesday.

For the custody remand, the police have prepared 50 questions that aim to solve the unanswered queries surrounding the murder. Ekta, the wife of Rahul Gupta, went missing on June 24 from her gym at Green Park Stadium in Kanpur. Soni disappeared the same.

Soni was apprehended four months later, on October 26, and he confessed to killing Ekta. Based on his directions, the police exhumed Ekta’s body from Officers’ Club, a high-security area located next to the residence of the district magistrate. The body, however, had decomposed to a great extent, but it was still sent for post-mortem.

During interrogation, Soni initially stated that he had punched Ekta in the throat, causing her to pass out before he strangled her to death. However, the post-mortem report contradicted his account.

“Once police obtain Soni’s remand, he will be asked questions regarding the recent discoveries,” the officials noted, adding that the police’s focus would be on establishing the motive behind the killing.

Also, Soni claimed that Ekta was unhappy with the news of his engagement ceremony, which led to a heated argument between them. However, his story was disproved after the woman he was engaged to and his own family members confirmed that the engagement was called off the previous year.