KANPUR, Oct. 8 -- 837 days after Ekta Gupta went missing in Kanpur, a crucial question in the murder case remains unanswered: whether the skeleton recovered from a pit at the Officers' Club adjoining the district magistrate's residence actually belonged to her. With the case already in trial, police are still awaiting the DNA report that could establish the identity of the remains.

The case began on June 24, 2024, when Ekta's husband, Rahul Gupta, a Civil Lines resident, lodged a complaint at Kotwali police station alleging that his wife had been abducted after being drugged. Her gym trainer, Vimal Kumar alias Vimal Soni, a resident of Shakkar Mill Khalwa, was named as the accused.

According to police sources, DNA reports involving skel...