A 26-year-old state-level woman boxer and gym trainer, whose body was found in a pool of blood beside the Kanpur-Prayagraj national highway on Friday, was identified by her family at the post-mortem house on Saturday. Suspecting murder, the family has named her boyfriend as a suspect.
The deceased, Mantasha Kumari, lived in Ikhlaq Nagar under the Gangaghat police station area of Unnao. Her parents, Sanjana and Prem Kumar, and other relatives broke down on seeing her body at the mortuary. Police informed them that the body of a young woman had been recovered in Kanpur, following which they rushed to the post-mortem house and identified her. He suspects the man may be involved in her death. Gangaghat police in Unnao are investigating the missing person case.
Prem Kumar told police that a young man who trained at the gym had become acquainted with his daughter and visited her several times in hospital during her illness. After failing to trace her, the family lodged a missing person complaint with Gangaghat police on Saturday. The body was found on Friday morning near Maholi cold storage turn on the highway, within Maharajpur police station limits.
Mantasha left home around 5 pm on Thursday to buy clothes and other items for Diwali from Lal Bangla market in Chakeri, Kanpur, according to the family. She did not return, and her mobile phone was switched off around 7 pm.
Unnao circle officer (city) Vini Singh said a missing person case had been registered on the family’s complaint. Further action would depend on evidence collected from the spot, forensic examination and the post-mortem report, she said.
