NEW DELHI: A 48-year-old city businessman missing since Feb 18 has been found dead and his body parts recovered from a canal in Mathura. Police have arrested four individuals, including a woman, for the murder. Gupta, who ran a canteen at Chhattisgarh Sadan, had gone missing along with his white Kia Seltos on Feb 18. What appeared to be a voluntary absence turned into a cold-blooded murder. Anroop Gupta, who liked wearing heavy gold jewellery, was allegedly abducted and killed by his friend, Happy, and his aides after he refused to pay them money and threatened to report them to police. Gupta had been living at the Dwarka house for the past one-and-a-half months and had been running the canteen for nearly 2.5 years. His father stays in Faridabad, while his wife and son live separately.Speaking to TOI, a relative said, “We waited with a hope that he would come back. Instead, we had to bring him in pieces.” Anroop’s brother reported him missing on Feb 23. Though the family said Anroop had no known enemies, the members highlighted that he was fond of wearing expensive gold rings and bracelets.Prime suspect Happy alias Suraj, 29, had been living in the Matiala flat with his partner, Rakhi. During interrogation, Happy confessed to a plan born of greed. He had met with Anroop a year ago and, noticing the businessman’s fondness for gold and the fact that he lived apart from his family, decided to target him. Happy roped in associates – Bhupender (27), Balram (28), Neeraj, and Rakhi (21) – to help execute a plot to kidnap the businessman to extort money. On the night of the murder, Happy allegedly lured Anroop to a flat under the guise of a party. The group overpowered him, tied him and assaulted him. When Anroop informed them that his gold was in his car at the canteen, the suspects stole his car keys, retrieved the vehicle and the jewellery, and returned to the flat.When they asked the businessman for more money, he refused. Thereafter, the suspects stabbed him to death. To cover their tracks, they used Anroop’s phone to send messages to his canteen staff, telling them to close the facility. They also sent the message to his family through his phone, claiming he was on a vacation in Goa and should not be disturbed. They even kept the phone inside a car while driving to mislead the family about his location. Following the confession, Delhi police coordinated with UP authorities for an intensive search for the body parts, which were finally recovered from the river in Mathura. Police have arrested Happy, Bhupender, Balram and Rakhi, and a hunt is on for Neeraj.
