LUCKNOW: A 22-year-old woman from Lakhimpur Kheri, who had been missing three days ago, was found dead under mysterious circumstances in a hotel room near Charbagh in Lucknow in the wee hours of Thursday. Police based on probe suspect the woman died by suicide following a failed love affair, while teams from Kheri police have been formed to trace and arrest her boyfriend for questioning.The deceased was identified as Gunjan Mishra, daughter of Pankaj Mishra, a resident of Mahevaganj area in Lakhimpur Kheri. She was a second-year MA Sanskrit student.According to police, Gunjan’s body was found hanging from the ceiling fan with a rope tied around her neck inside Room Number 23 of a hotel under the Naka Hindola police station limits. Hotel staff became suspicious after the woman did not step out of the room for a long time. Repeated knocks on the door reportedly went unanswered, following which the employees alerted Dial-112.A police team reached the spot and opened the room, where the woman was found hanging. The body was brought down and sent for post-mortem examination. The incident triggered panic at the hotel premises.Police said the woman had been reported missing from Lakhimpur Kheri on May 25. An FIR had already been registered at Sadar Kotwali police station in Kheri district by her family.According to her brother, the family was having dinner on the night of May 25 when Gunjan went downstairs to bring water but never returned. After searching for nearly 20 minutes, family members came downstairs and found the door open. When extensive searches failed to trace her, the family lodged a kidnapping case the same day.He said CCTV footage later showed Gunjan leaving the house alone. Family members searched among relatives and in the neighbourhood but found no clue regarding her whereabouts. On May 28, around 12 am, the family received a call from Naka police station in Lucknow informing them that her body had been found in a hotel.Police said the family informed investigators that Gunjan had left home without carrying any money or even a mobile phone. However, when the body was recovered, police found a mobile handset, some cash and three to four pairs of new clothes inside her bag.Her relatives said Gunjan had saved nearly Rs 35,000 to buy a scooter and the money was still lying at home, raising suspicion about how she managed expenses during her stay in Lucknow.Sources in the investigation said police suspect the woman may have been in a relationship and preliminary findings indicate a possible suicide linked to a failed love affair. Investigators are now trying to identify and trace the man believed to have been in contact with her before her death.Superintendent of Police, Kheri, Khyati Garg, said multiple teams have been formed to locate the boyfriend and examine his role in the circumstances leading to Gunjan’s death. Investigators are also scanning CCTV footage from the hotel and nearby areas, along with call detail records and digital evidence recovered from the mobile phone found in her possession.Inspector Naka Hindola, Abhinav Verma, said statements of family members, hotel staff and other persons connected to the case are being recorded.Meanwhile, grieving relatives reached the Lucknow post-mortem house and demanded a thorough investigation into the circumstances surrounding Gunjan’s death.
