WOMAN IRE: Jain (right) blames Barwala (centre) for her differences with Gupta

Atma Ram Gupta, 55, could not have expected death to lure him away so easily. But when on the morning of August 24, the second-time corporator from north Delhi's Tri Nagar ward, accompanied his fellow Congress municipal councillor Sharda Jain in her car, there was no turning back. By evening, his body had allegedly been abandoned in the wilds of Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh.

Though the body is yet to be found, Jain-now in police custody along with her brother Raj Kumar-has confessed to having had Gupta shot by hired killers known to Kumar, a resident of Gulawati in Meerut. The motive: 31-year-old Jain, Gupta's "intimate friend of five years", was consumed by jealousy over his growing proximity to fellow councillor Memwati Barwala. In custody, Jain broke down, saying she had "got rid of Atma Ram because he was more inclined towards Memwati".

While an embarrassed Congress stripped both Jain and Barwala of their primary party memberships, the Opposition made the most of the situation. Said Delhi's BJP chief Madan Lal Khurana: "The Congress has introduced sex culture in modern day politics." The issue also saw BJP women activists clashing with Congress women outside party President Sonia Gandhi's residence.

PASSION PIVOT: Gupta was aware Jain disapproved of his fondness for Barwala

Meanwhile, Barwala, an unwitting victim, went on the defensive, describing her relationship with Gupta as that between a "brother and a sister". Gupta's family, unable to cope with the stigma attached to adultery, also said that both Jain and Barwala were family friends. Jain's neighbours at Keshavpuram, however, insist Gupta visited her every day, often late in the evening.

Gupta was aware of Jain's aversion for his affection for Barwala. Two years ago, it had prompted Jain to take an overdose of sleeping tablets and she had to be hospitalised; the police are scrutinising the medical records. Since then the relationship had deteriorated and Gupta's attempts to extend monetary help-he owns a shoe factory in north Delhi-to Jain failed to appease her. "Jain told us her relationship with Gupta was of an intimate nature and that differences had cropped up over Barwala," confirms Ajay Chadha, joint commissioner (north), Delhi Police.

At about 11 a.m. on August 24, Gupta left his house for Jain's, and while his driver returned, Gupta accompanied Jain in her car to a Congress rally near the Feroz Shah Kotla stadium. Besides Jain and her driver, there was another unidentified man in the car. After half an hour, they left the rally and at Asaf Ali Road, close to the rally venue, another man took over from Jain's driver who was dropped off. Gupta was then taken to a rest house at Ghaziabad's Chajjupur village where they were joined by Kumar and three others, including Roshan Singh, a former village pradhan known to Jain.

Back in Delhi, when Gupta did not return for lunch, his wife Sumitra and son Amit tried to contact him on his cell phone, but failed. Even Jain's mobile was switched off. Late in the evening, Sumitra spoke to Jain, who denied having met Gupta that day. When told that their drivers had seen them together, she changed her statement. "I became suspicious when she gave me different versions," recalls Sumitra. "Then we informed the police." While the police are confident Jain is the culprit they will need Gupta's body to clinch the case.

A relative rookie in Delhi's political scene, Jain was ensured a ticket for the civic polls only six months ago by a Congress team headed by former Union minister Kamal Nath. Jain's neighbours recall how after her victory, she stopped seeing them. They never ever saw her husband, Ishwar Jain, who has been missing for three years, and who, some believe, is dead. In Gupta, Jain may have been seeking a new companion. The councillor's rebuff possibly cost him his life.

-Sayantan Chakravarty