Knp realtor’s death: Two accused cops held from Gorakhpur

GORAKHPUR: Two of the six policemen booked for murder after the death of a Kanpurbased realtor were arrested from Gorakhpur’s Ramgarh Tal area on Sunday evening when they were planning to surrender in court, the police said.

The arrested men were identified as JN Singh, the then station house officer of Ramgarh Tal police station and Akshay Mishra, the then incharge of Phal Mandi post.

Kanpur commissioner of police Asim Arun confirmed the arrest.

“Two of the six accused policemen JN Singh and Akshay Mishra, who were on the run, have been arrested today (Sunday) by crime branch. The Kanpur SIT is also quizzing them in Gorakhpur,” he said.

The policemen were on the run since the death of Kanpurbased realtor Manish Gupta after a police raid on a Gorakhpur hotel on September 27.

There was a reward of Rs 25,000 on all the accused policemen which was later raised to Rs 1 lakh by the Kanpur police who circulated their pictures on social media with an appeal for information leading to their arrest.

A named FIR against JN Singh, Akshay Mishra and subinspector Vijay Yadav under Section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code was filed at the Ramgarh Tal police station in Gorakhpur last month. The FIR mentions three other accused as unidentified cops.

SI Vijay Yadav, who has reportedly filed a surrender plea in court, and the others are still on the run.

Six police teams were conducting raids to nab the accused in the case.

The Uttar Pradesh government on October 1 recommended a CBI probe into the death of Manish Gupta. The recommendation to this effect was made to the central government on the directives of chief minister Yogi Adityanath, additional chief secretary (home) Awanish K Awasthi, had said in a press statement.

Till the time the CBI takes over the inquiry, the special investigating team set up for the purpose will probe the matter, transferring the case to Kanpur from Gorakhpur, the statement had said.

The government had also ordered appointment of the realtor’s wife Meenakshi Gupta as an officer on special duty (OSD) in the Kanpur Development Authority.

The chief minister had issued an order for providing economic assistance to Manish Gupta’s family.