UP Businessman Death: Strings Linked To Extortion Racket, Says Akhilesh Yadav

Samajwadi Party National President Akhilesh Yadav on Friday lashed out at the Uttar Pradesh government over the Kanpur businessman death case, and charged that "someone" is saving themself and an extortion racket is linked to the matter.

Manish Gupta, a Businessman, died in a Gorakhpur hotel during a police raid late on Monday night, prompting the authorities to suspend six policemen and book them on the charge of murder.Gupta was staying along with two friends in the hotel.

"No policeman has been arrested in the Manish Gupta murder case. This shows that they did not escape themselves but they were made to escape. Actually, someone is not saving the accused but saving themself as the matter's strings are linked to a 'vasooli tantra' (extortion racket)," Yadav said in a tweet in Hindi.

"Zero tolerance is also a BJP jumla (rhetoric),"  he said, while apparently indicating Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's assertion that the state has zero tolerance towards crime and corruption.

A case of murder has been lodged in the case against six policemen who are absconding since.

A top Uttar Pradesh Police official on Thursday claimed that Gupta died from a head injury caused by a fall as he tried to escape during a police raid at a hotel where he was staying in Gorakhpur.

He added that Gupta died at a hospital during treatment.

(With PTI Inputs)