The body of a 57-year-old advocate was found under mysterious circumstances in his office at Lalita Park of East Delhi on Friday midnight.
The limbs of the victim, Subhash Gupta, a senior Income-Tax consultant, were taped and his naked body was found lying flat on the floor face down. There were blood marks around the body and prima facie it appeared that the victim had been strangled, the police said.
Mr. Gupta, a resident of Shanti Vihar, had left home for office on Thursday morning. As he did not return at his usual time, his family tried to contact him but the calls went unanswered.
Following this, Mr. Gupta’s younger brother Rajeev Gupta visited his office located on the first floor of Surana Bhawan in Laxmi Nagar. Surana Bhawan is a commercial complex and houses several offices. Rajeev found the door locked from outside.
Rajeev, who was carrying a spare key opened the lock and discovered the naked body of his brother. It was partly covered with a blood-stained sheet.
Rajeev informed other family members who reached the spot. Jagmohan Gupta, another brother of the deceased, called up the police.
According to the police, the clothes of the victim were kept on a chair close to the body. A plywood door and a couple of window glasses were also found broken and blood could be seen oozing out of the victim’s ears and nose.
The police said Mr. Gupta was last seen alive by his assistant K.L. Sharma. It is learnt that around 8-30 p.m. when Mr. Sharma was about to leave the office, Mr. Gupta asked him to keep some documents in his car. Mr. Sharma purportedly left the office after keeping the documents in the vehicle.
The police said a friendly entry into the office was possible. Those working in the neighbouring offices said a large number of people visit the commercial complex on a daily basis and it was possible that the attackers struck after the offices closed on Thursday night. According to a visitor, oblivious of Mr. Gupta’s death, who had come to the deceased’s office on Friday evening to file an I-T return for his company, Mr. Gupta used to stay in his office till 9 p.m. on most days.
Several persons including Mr. Gupta’s staff, which included two office boys besides Mr. Sharma, have been questioned so far. A team of forensic experts examined the crime scene on Friday evening.
Describing Mr. Gupta as socially active, his brother Jagmohan said he had no enmity with anyone. He added that in the past, Mr. Gupta had been the president of the Delhi Tax Bar Association for two terms and was the general secretary of the residents’ welfare association of his area. Since no valuables are missing from the spot, the police have ruled out robbery as a possible motive. A police officer said they were investigating other possibilities including suspected physical proximity of the victim with some person.
The post-mortem report will confirm the nature of injuries on the victim’s body.
