LUCKNOW: The last SOS call by Kanpur businessman, Manish Gupta, to his nephew, Durgesh, in midst of the police raid in his Gorakhpur hotel room displays clarity of thought and alacrity in speech, punching holes in the police theory that he slumped on the floor in a sozzled state and died of injuries.
In the recorded phone call accessed by TOI, Manish can be heard telling the policemen — Sir, aap faltu main haath mat uthaiye (don’t assault me without reason) and seconds later he was seeking help from Durgesh, saying Beta, baat kharaab ho rahi hai ab, maddad karo (the situation is getting out of hand, please help). When Durgesh asks Gupta to connect him to the cops, Manish said, he was being taken to the police station, and the call disconnects. In the 2-minute 12-second phone conversation, Manish doesn’t sound tipsy as claimed by cops. Manish’s wife Meenakshi told TOI she last spoke to her husband around 12:10am on September 28. “Manish told me somebody had barged into his hotel room and he would call later. Thereafter, I tried calling several times, but failed to connect,” she said.
She said, Manish’s last call was to his nephew, Durgesh, around 12:15 am, which was found in the recording app of her husband’s cell phone, now in her possession. Manish is heard telling Durgesh “Humlog Gorakhpur mein hain dekho zara beta (We are in Gorakhpur, please attend the call). Humlog so rahe the aur achanak room mein yeh aaye hain (We were sleeping when they suddenly barged into the room). Where are they from, Durgesh please ask them. To which a cop is heard saying, Hum Ramgarhtal police station se aaye hain checking ke liye.”
Durgesh is then heard saying, he would talk to SP Gorakhpur, before the call drops. Manish Gupta, 36, died of injuries during a police verification drive at a hotel in Gorakhpur’s Ramgarhtal area after Monday midnight. However, Manish’s friends accused police of inflicting injuries on him, which triggered his death.
