Kanpur: Taking a cue from Bollywood movie ‘Drishyam', a gym trainer, who was arrested on Saturday on charges of murdering the wife of a businessman four months ago, had buried the body on the premises of Officers' Club adjacent to the bungalow of Kanpur district magistrate, thinking that the posh locality would not be searched by the police.
The accused had been on the run since June and was arrested after he tried to contact his family in Kanpur.
After his arrest, the accused, Vimal Soni (35), informed the police that he had watched Bollywood thriller ‘Drishyam' several times in which the protagonist had buried the body under a police station, and added that he decided to bury the body in a posh area.
He also informed the police that he disposed of the SIM card and did not make financial transactions to evade arrest, an idea that he got from the film.
On the information provided by Vimal, the police exhumed the body of the 32-year-old victim.
Police said that the woman had last visited the gym on the premises of the Green Park Stadium on June 24 and was missing since then. Her husband had lodged an FIR against Vimal in this connection.
DCP Shrawan Kumar said that the police faced difficulty in locating Vimal as he had neither been using his phone nor was he making any financial transactions.
A few days ago, Vimal contacted his family, and based on fresh inputs, the police arrested him.
"Several teams were sent to Delhi, Pune, Agra, Gwalior, and Punjab for investigation. It was found that Vimal stayed in Mahoba for some time and then he went to Punjab where he worked in a hotel. He kept minimal interaction with the owner and staff of the hotel. A few days ago, he contacted his family in Kanpur after which we traced his location and arrested him," he said.
Initially, Vimal claimed that he had thrown the body in the Ganga, but later confessed that he buried the body on the premises of Officers' Club on VIP Road.
The police, along with a forensic team, excavated the spot under the supervision of joint commissioner of police (law and order) Harish Chander and recovered the body.
"During interrogation, Vimal claimed that he was in a relationship with the woman. On June 24, they had a heated exchange of words in his car after she came to know that Vimal's marriage had been fixed. In a fit of rage, Vimal punched the woman on her neck which led to her instant death. Later, he drove to Sarsaiya Ghat and buried her body in the Officers' Club," the JCP said.
He said that efforts were on to ensure that the trial is done in a fast-track court.
Another police officer said that during interrogation, Vimal claimed that he used to train senior officials and prominent personalities of the city due to which she got attracted to him. "Vimal informed the police that he used his connections to get a room allotted in his name in the Officers' Club. No guard ever stopped him, and he had easy access to the premises. He claimed that the woman was upset after his marriage got fixed and on the fateful day they she had an argument with him over the issue," the officer said.
"Vimal confessed to have killed the woman in a fit of rage and said that the premises was located next to the DM's bungalow, therefore, there was least probability of police checking the spot," he added.