Though the Uttar Pradesh administration has repeatedly asserted that engineer M.K. Gupta was murdered due to "underhand deals", a police inspector suspended after the murder has said the killing was due to Gupta's refusal to contribute to the fund collection drive before Chief Minister Mayawati's birthday.

In an interview to a TV news channel Saturday, suspended police inspector Hoshiar Singh attributed Gupta's death to extortion by ruling Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) legislator Shekhar Tiwari, who was on an overdrive to "collect funds for Mayawati's birthday".