Kanpur police search Yamuna after man ‘murders partner, stuffs body in black suitcase, throws it into river’

The victim was identified as 20-year-old Akansha, who is reported to have been missing since July 22.

On Saturday, Kanpur police arrested the main accused, Suraj Kumar Uttam, and his friend Ashish Kumar (21), whom police accused of driving the motorcycle on which Uttam transported the suitcase.

A search is now underway for the suitcase and the body.

According to police, Uttam, an electrician from Fatehpur district, came in contact with Akansha a few months ago through Instagram.

“We have arrested the accused on the basis of evidence, such as call records and his location details from the time the victim went missing. He has also confessed to the crime during the course of the investigation. We have recovered a photograph of the suitcase from his cellphone and circulated it, along with case details, to police in neighbouring districts, including Banda, Chitrakoot, Fatehpur, Kaushambi and Prayagraj,” said Rajeev Singh, the SHO of Hanumanth Vihar police station.

20-year-old goes missing

Akansha’s mother, Vijayshree, a resident of Kanpur Dehat district, had lodged a report at Hanumanth Vihar police station in Kanpur, saying that she had no contact with her daughter since July 22. She told police that Akansha had been working at a hotel in Kanpur with her elder sister for about 10 months, and that they had been living together in rented accommodation in the Barra area of the city. In June, Akansha started working at a different hotel, and by July, she had moved to a new house in the Hanumanth Vihar area.

The mother also expressed suspicion about Akansha’s friend, Uttam, claiming that when she asked him about her daughter’s whereabouts, he gave evasive answers and tried to mislead her. In August, the mother approached the police with a complaint regarding Akansha’s disappearance and alleged that she was abducted, following which an FIR was lodged.

Investigating the case, officers discovered that it was on Uttam’s advice that Akansha had left her previous job and moved to a new house. The investigation further revealed that on July 21, Uttam and Akansha had a heated argument at the hotel, officers said.

Scrutiny of call records indicated that both Uttam and Akansha were present at the rented house on the evening of July 21. It was also found that the following day, Uttam travelled to Banda district. Based on these findings, the police detained Uttam for questioning and examined his cellphone for further evidence.

Initially, Uttam claimed that he did not know where Akansha lived, but further investigation revealed that he had, in fact, arranged the house for her, police said, adding that eventually, Uttam confessed to the crime.

“Uttam said that on the afternoon of July 21, he had a heated argument with Akansha after she accused him of having an affair with another girl. Later that evening, when they returned home, the argument escalated again, with Akansha demanding that he marry her. The confrontation turned violent, and during the ensuing scuffle, Uttam strangulated her to death,” SHO Singh said.

Uttam then called his friend, Ashish Kumar, in Fatehpur and asked him to come. “Together, they stuffed her body into a black suitcase that belonged to her, carried it on a motorcycle to Banda, and threw it into the Yamuna River near Chillaghat. Before disposing of the suitcase, they took a photograph of it, which was later uploaded on WhatsApp,” the SHO said.

Around two days after the murder, Suraj used the victim’s cellphone to send messages to her friends and family, claiming that she had joined another hotel in Lucknow, police said, adding that he later disposed of her phone by throwing it onto a moving train.