Nikki Yadav murder: Sahil Gehlot's constable cousin suspected as accomplice
What's the story
The Delhi Police suspects that accused Sahil Gehlot, arrested for allegedly murdering his girlfriend Nikki Yadav and hiding her body in his dhaba's freezer, had hatched a conspiracy to kill her in the first week of February.
One of his two cousins arrested in the case is reportedly a constable, and his role in the murder and the subsequent cover-up is now being investigated.
Context
Why does this story matter?
On Tuesday, the police recovered Yadav's body from the roadside eatery in Delhi's Najafgarh owned by Gehlot's family.
He allegedly murdered her between February 10—hours before his wedding to another woman—when she confronted him about keeping her in the dark about his wedding arranged by his family.
After killing her, he kept her phone, wiped its data, and went ahead to solemnize his marriage.
Accused
Gehlot's father, 2 cousins, 2 friends arrested
The new details point to a premeditated murder instead of one committed in the heat of the moment, as was believed until now.
On Friday, cops arrested five persons, including Gehlot's father Virendra Singh, his two cousins Ashish Kumar and Naveen Kumar (a police constable posted at Delhi's Dwarka), and two friends Lokesh Singh and Amar Singh for their suspected involvement in the case.
Marriage
Kin threatened Arya Samaj priest to tear off marriage register
It was earlier learned Gehlot and Yadav got married toward the end of 2020 at an Arya Samaj temple in Noida with some friends as witnesses. Yadav later allegedly pressured Gehlot to get married in a formal ceremony.
A temple official said Gehlot's kin recently approached the temple priest and threatened to tear off the marriage register.
Cops have reportedly recovered their marriage certificates.
Murder
Gehlot met 4 people on way to hide body
Gehlot allegedly informed the other five accused right after killing Yadav in his car parked in Delhi's Nigambodh Ghat crematorium on February 10.
Cops said the other accused suggested he stow the body in their dhaba. He drove around 40km to his family dhaba in Mitraon village on the outskirts of Najafgarh.
He reportedly met four people on his way to hide the body.
Function
Accused left body in car before wedding
Gehlot reportedly left Yadav's body in the car's trunk at the dhaba and returned home for his wedding; he came back late at night to hide the body in the fridge.
The couple had at a coaching center in Delhi's Uttam Nagar in 2018. They got into a relationship and then moved in together.
In December, his family scheduled his wedding with another woman.