A gym trainer has been arrested for allegedly punching a 32-year-old woman in the throat, strangling her with a rope and burying her body in the Kanpur District Magistrate’s residential complex – latest insight on who took it from a hit Hindi film – police officers familiar with the matter said on Sunday.

The suspect, Vimal Soni (37 years old), was arrested on Saturday. The crime dates back four months when the victim Ekta Gupta went missing and her husband Rahul Gupta filed a complaint. Police said the suspect told them the woman had an extramarital affair with him and disapproved of his engagement to another woman, though the victim’s family said Soni kidnapped the woman for ransom.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (East) Shravan Kumar Singh said Soni initially misled the police during interrogation and said that Ekta was in Kashmir looking for a job. He later broke down and said he had killed her and dumped the body in the Ganga, the officer said.

“We found contradictions in his statements about where he dumped the body. Finally, he told us about the location,” said Singh.

Soni confessed that he killed Ekta in his car, dug a grave 10 meters deep and three meters wide and buried her there – unnoticed. Officers said they were investigating whether the killing was premeditated, although Soni revealed that she had watched the Bollywood film Drishyam — in which the protagonist buries a body in the precincts of a police station to avoid suspicion — at least 20 times, which helped him with his modus operandi.

The spot where Ekta’s body was exhumed is located five meters away from the campus sentry post and is separated by a wall that runs between the club and the DM’s residence. The campus houses the residence of many judicial, administrative and police officers. The body was exhumed around 2 am after four hours of digging in the presence of forensic experts and Ekta’s husband Rahul Gupta.

“We are verifying whether the crime was premeditated as the accused dug a 10-feet grave to ensure that the body decomposed quickly,” Additional Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) Harish Chander said.

According to police, Ekta left the Green Park gym, about 100 meters from her house in Civil Lines area, around 6.30 am on June 24 and got into Soni’s car in the parking lot, as seen in the footage CCTV camera. During the altercation, Soni punched her, after which she fell unconscious. He then strangled the victim and flattened her chair to ensure she was not visible. On June 25, police found the car in front of Soni’s sister’s house in Juhi Army Camp, about 7 km from the gym. A piece of cloth, a rope, a broken SIM card and hair clutch were found in the trunk, according to senior officers.

The police scrutinized the call recording details and traced his phone to near Sarsaiya Ghat around 7:45 am, close to the DM’s residence. At 8.20 am his location was traced near Jhari Baba Parao after which Soni went incognito. Soni was also seen in CCTV footage from the complex, but Ekta’s family claimed that these details were not analysed.

DCP Singh, said that Soni did not use his phone at all while on the run. “He retired ₹2,000 from an ATM in Agra and returned to Kanpur after running out of money. His location was traced to Mall Road from where he was arrested,” Singh added.

Meanwhile, Ekta’s husband Rahul, a 35-year-old businessman, dismissed claims that his wife was having an extramarital affair and said the suspect spiked her protein shake to kidnap her for money.

Soni was named in the FIR filed for kidnapping with the Kotwali police on June 24 by her husband. Soni first went into hiding in Amritsar after spending some time in Gwalior. The victim’s family gathered information about his whereabouts from his relatives and shared those details with police, people familiar with the case said.

Police did not respond to questions about the family’s allegations, despite repeated requests.

“We kept saying he kidnapped and killed her, but the police kept deflecting it and said it was a romantic entanglement. I have written to everyone, starting from the commissioner to the chief minister’s office, but nothing has happened,” said Rahul, speaking to reporters after Ekta’s was recovered. The victim’s family also claimed that the evidence found in the car was not subject to forensic examination until later.

Police also said Soni took the body in his car to the officers’ club through a gate 10 meters away from where she was buried. However, the width of the gate is 1,676 mm, while the car is 1,680 mm wide, making it unclear how the suspect managed this. People in the know also said the club’s gates were locked from the inside as well, raising the question of how Soni opened at 7.15am without anyone noticing.

Soni has been a personal trainer to several IPS and IAS officers for 15 years, the people said, adding that he was earlier sacked from various places for misconduct.

ACP Chander indicated that the police are examining whether Soni acted alone or was assisted in the murder. “We are investigating the case thoroughly and all angles will be covered,” he said.

Soni was brought before a magistrate on Sunday and remanded in custody. “The police will ensure that the accused is tried in a speedy court,” the DCP added.