AIR announcer found murdered

An unspecified amount of jewellery and some money is also believed to be missing. The police are yet to find any clue to the identity of the assailants. There were no signs of forced entry into the house and Gupta’s neighbours say they did not hear anything untoward.

Gupta was a divorcee, and had been living alone in her government-allocated one-bedroom apartment at 876, J-Block, for the past 15 years. Her two brothers stay in Greater Kailash, Part-1. The police are yet to find details about her ex-husband.

According to a colleague at AIR, she left her office after 8 p.m. yesterday and was scheduled to return by 10 p.m. to host an election-related programme.When she did not turn up well past 10 p.m., her colleagues called her residence several times. “The telephone line seemed to be continuously engaged. We were a little worried, because she is very particular about her work and is always in well before time,” said a colleague.

Bahadur, who is a chowkidar for the apartment blocks in Mandir Marg and also a car-cleaner for several residents, says he found Gupta’s car — a Maruti Zen — parked as usual on the road outside the apartment block around 8 a.m. today.

And he went up to Gupta’s third floor apartment to ask for a bucket of water as always. He says he knocked on the door for more than 10 minutes. When he realised that the door was not locked from the inside, and yet Gupta failed to respond, he called her neighbour.

Bahadur and the neighbour, who requested anonymity, went inside Gupta’s house and found her body in the bedroom. There was blood on her head and mouth. Some money was strewn across the bed. An empty jewellery box was also lying on the bed.

While Bahadur went to get a doctor, Gupta’s neighbour called the police. According to a senior officer at Mandir Marg police station: “The most crucial evidence which indicates that the assailants were not unknown is the fact that we found three glasses of water in the living room. She herself must have allowed them inside”.

He adds: “The manner in which the bed was found also indicates that Gupta struggled with her assailants before they killed her”.

The bedroom opens into a balcony on the Park Street side, where traffic movement is very heavy in the evenings. This, the police say, is a possible reason why Gupta’s neighbors did not hear anything untoward.

Gupta’s brother, Subhash, rushed to her house after the police contacted him. He was unwilling to talk much. “I don’t understand why anyone would have killed her, she got along so well with everyone,” he said.