Greater Noida West: 50-year-old businessman, wife found murdered in apartment; cops rule out robbery

Greater Noida: A 55-year-old businessman and his 50-year-old wife were found murdered at their apartment on the ninth floor of Cherry County in Greater Noida West

Greater Noida: A 55-year-old businessman and his 50-year-old wife were found murdered at their apartment on the ninth floor of Cherry County in Greater Noida West Wednesday morning. The victim, Vinay Kumar Gupta owned a supermarket store – Price Smart – in the same complex while his wife, Neha Gupta, was a homemaker. According to the police, the couple had injury marks on their heads and it appeared they were attacked with a blunt object. A bloodstained brass lamp was found at the spot which may have been used in the attack, said the police.

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Love Kumar, additional commissioner of police, law and order, Gautam Budh Nagar, said the couple lived in Tower B 2. “The police received information that the couple were found murdered in the morning. A police team from Bisrakh, along with a forensic team and dog squad, reached the spot for investigation. We found the main door was open; there was no forced entry in the flat,” he said.

The couple have two sons – Love Gupta, who lives in the United States, and Kush Gupta, who lives in Noida’s Sector 122. The family is from Saharanpur, and lived for some years in Ghaziabad, before shifting to Sector 122.

Vinay ran the store in Cherry County and commuted from his workplace to residence in Sector 122 every day.

However, he had shifted to Cherry County two months ago, while his younger son and his elderly parents continue to live in Sector 122. Police said that in the morning, Kush dialled his father but the call went unanswered. Later, he went to Cherry County and found his parents murdered.

“Primary investigation shows there was no damage to the safe. The valuables are also not missing. The investigation shows this is not a case of loot. Kush revealed that his father had borrowed some loan for business. Vinay also dealt in jewellery business. The police are investigating the matter from all angles,” he said.

Locals said that Vinay had contested the Nagar Nigam elections from Ghaziabad in the past. Locals also claimed that an electoral poster has surfaced on social media and WhatsApp groups. However. the police said that they are yet to verify any election angle.

BN Rai, the security in-charge of the society, said security personnel came to know about the incident at 10am on Wednesday. “The guards were at the entry gate but they did not notice anything unusual. The couple’s son had come to the society and alerted the people and security personnel. We do know how the incident took place,” he said.

There 1,700 apartments across 13 towers in the highrise society, of which 1,500 flats are occupied. Sanjeev Goel, Vinay’s cousin, said that a double murder in a high-rise society exposes residents’ safety and security. “Vinay was a simple man. He used to work at the supermarket and return home. We hope the police arrest the suspects and solve the case soon,” he said.

Based on Kush’s application, the Bisrakh police have registered a case against unknown persons under Section 302 (murder) of the IPC.

A spokesperson of ABA Corp, the developer of Cherry County, said that this was an unfortunate incident. “We have provided CCTV camera footage to the police and are cooperating in the investigation.”