The sensational cold-blooded murder of Kanpur Nagar-based realtor by the Gorakhpur police took a new twist after a video went viral on Thursday, showing how top district officials, including the district magistrate and senior superintendent of police of Gorakhpur frantically tried to dissuade the victim’s family from lodging a report and much less pursue it.

The video raised questions on the functioning of top officials and pointed that instead of taking immediate cognisance and acting tough on the inhuman and brutal act of the cops, they were trying to bail them out by bullying the victim’s family from taking any action.

"I am requesting you like an elder brother. After a court case, you will not believe, it takes years in court," one of the officials, said to be the DM, can be seen telling the victim's family.

Another official, said to be SSP of Gorakhpur, is heard saying in the video, "They did not have any previous enmity. They went in uniform and that is why I have been listening to you since morning. You asked for them to be suspended and I did that. They will not be reinstated till they get a clean chit."

Victim’s wife Meenakshi replied in the video, "They should either be removed from service completely, or I want a life for a life."

In another video that went viral, Meenakshi is seen crying at the hotel where the incident took place, alleging that the cops engaged in the barbaric act got the blood spots and other evidence from room number 512 of hotel Krishna Palace in Gorakhpur removed, further suggesting a blatant cover-up.

Meenakshi later confirmed that a viral video, showing SSP, Gorakhpur, Vipin Tada and District Magistrate Vijay Kiran Anand discouraging Gupta's family in registering an FIR against the cops, was true.

However, the victim's wife, Meenakshi, said that the pressure was there before registering the First Information Report (FIR).

Later, when Meenakshi protested, a FIR under sections of murder was registered against six police personnel involved in the raid, on condition that three named persons be marked as unidentified.

The cops were previously suspended but no arrest has been made so far.

Responding to the clip, SSP of Gorakhpur, Vipin Tada, said, "We had gone to meet the family and address their grievances. District magistrate and I held talks for more than two hours. There were local journalists present. We took the complaint from the family and later registered an FIR. A small clip of the conversation without context is being circulated."

Meanwhile, the FIR at Ramgarhtal police station in Gorakhpur (Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's home town) has been lodged under IPC Section 302 (murder), against Ramgarhtal SHO Jagat Narayan Singh and Sub-Inspectors Akshay Mishra and Vijay Yadav, apart from three unidentified policemen.

Interestingly, top police officials claim that the victim died after he fell in the room. However, the post-mortem report revealed several injuries sustained by Gupta, including an abraded contusion swelling in the middle of forehead, cutting brain skull underneath brain haematoma present, lacerated wound over right arm, abraded contusion on left upper lid while cutting skin underneath haematoma present, among others. The cause of death is stated as ‘coma antemortem injury.

Even then the SSP of Gorakhpur was defiant and said that the post-mortem report showed three injuries -- on the right elbow, forehead and an eyelid. He also said that as per the report, the cause of death was coma and all injuries were superficial.

Meanwhile, opposition leaders visited Gupta's home in Kanpur Nagar on Wednesday and condemned the police action.

Hitting out at Yogi Adityanath, former chief minister and opposition leader Akhilesh Yadav blamed the incident on the culture of encounters in UP, the practice of which, he claimed, was started by the Bharatiya Janata Party. He also provided a financial help of Rs 20 lakh to the bereaved family.

Meanwhile, Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also spoke to the victim’s wife and consoled her She later tweeted, “The current UP government is an enabler to such instances. The police are barbaric to the common folk and soft towards criminals.”

Bahujan Samaj Party chief and former chief minister of UP, Mayawati, also took to Twitter to criticise the Yogi Adityanath government in the state. She claimed that this incident revealed the true nature of law and order in the state and demanded that justice be provided to the victim's family at the earliest and sought a CBI probe into the matter.