AGENCIES /WEB DESK
Uttar Pradesh Police on Thursday said that the Kanpur-based businessman died due to injury which he suffered after falling down while trying to flee from a hotel in Gorakhpur.
The victim’s wife has alleged that Gupta died after being beaten up by policemen in the hotel room.
“We received info that on 27th Sept night, checking was done at a hotel. There were 3 people in a room, 2 of whom had IDs while the 3rd probably didn’t. He tried to flee, fell down & got injured. He was taken to hospital where he died,” ADG (Law & Order) Prashant Kumar said.
Following the incident, police denied the charge levelled by Gupta’s wife and said he succumbed to a head injury he received after falling on the ground in a drunken state in the hotel room. Six policemen, including the Ramgarhtal SHO, have been suspended and the probe has been handed over to the SP (City).
While police claim that Manish Gupta died after a fall in the hotel room, the victim’s wife has alleged that the cops misbehaved with her husband and when he objected, “he was assaulted, resulting in serious injuries and his death…”.
The incident took place on Monday midnight during a checking by the Ramgarhtal police. Police found that three people were staying on an ID of one Chandan Saini of Mahadeva Bazar in the Sikriganj area of Gorakhpur. On getting suspicious, they went to the room where the real estate businessman, Manish, was with his two friends, Pradeep Chauhan and Hari Chauhan of Gurgaon.
Police said when they were interrogating them, Manish fell on the ground as he was in a drunken state. Police rushed him to BRD Medical College, where he died during treatment. However, the victim’s wife, Meenakshi Gupta, and his father Nand Kishore Gupta while talking to reporters accused police of beating up Manish.
Congress questioned if the “cover-up was being done on the orders of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath”.
Hitting out at the BJP government in Uttar Pradesh, Congress national spokesperson Dr Shama Mohamed said, “The wife of the businessman who was killed in Gorakhpur police raid alleges he was murdered and a cover-up is being done. A video of cops trying to convince the family not to go ahead with the case has also come out. Is this alleged cover-up being done on Yogi Adityanath’s orders!”