As per the FIR filed by the Delhi Police in connection with the murder of 23-year-old Nikki Yadav, allegedly by her live-in partner Sahil Gehlot, last week, there were “strangulation marks on her neck,” as well as “injury marks on her waist and legs.”
On the intervening night of 9 and 10 February, Nikki was killed, allegedly by her live-in partner Sahil, 24, in his car, after which he kept her body in a fridge at a dhaba in Mitraon village on the outskirts of Delhi. The same day, he got married to another woman.
On 13 February, Gehlot was arrested by Delhi Police. Special CP (Crime) Ravindra Singh Yadav had claimed that the accused “strangulated the victim with the help of a data cable of his mobile phone... The accused and the deceased were in a relationship for the past few years.”
An FIR under sections 302 (murder) and 201 (causing disappearance of evidence of an offence committed) of the IPC has been filed at Dwarka district’s Baba Haridas Nagar police station. The complainant is a Delhi police personnel.
Accused In Remand For Five Days
As per the FIR, Sahil accompanied the police to the dhaba where Nikki’s body was kept inside a fridge. The FIR claims, “Sahil pointed at a fridge kept inside a tin room and said that this is where he has hidden his girlfriend Nikki Yadav’s body… The sub-inspector opened the fridge – whose door was kept facing the wall – and found a woman’s body, and there was a stench.”
A senior officer told The Quint that so far “no other person’s involvement in the case has surfaced,” and that the accused has claimed to the police that he “did not confide in anyone about the incident.”
As per the FIR, the crime team and the FSL have collected exhibits such as “hair strands from the fridge door, swab sample from the floor of the fridge, the blue-coloured Whirlpool Genius fridge, a white electric wire used to tie up the fridge, a coil, and a women’s handbag, among others.”
DCP Crime Branch Satish Kumar told news agency ANI that the accused is on remand for five days. "Inquiry is on. Our multiple teams are working to identify the route taken that night. We are also scanning CCTV footage," he said.
'Nikki And Sahil Used To Travel Together, Fell In Love'
While Sahil is from Delhi's Mitraon village, Nikky was from Jhajjar, Haryana.
"Both the accused and the deceased used to travel to their respective coaching institutes daily in the same bus, and they became friends and later on fell in love. They started meeting before and after the coaching classes. In February 2018, the accused took admission in D. Pharma in Galgotiya College at Greater Noida and the deceased also took admission in the same college in the BA (English Honours) course. Thereafter, both of them started living together at Greater Noida in a rented house," said Special CP Ravindra Singh Yadav on Tuesday.
As per Delhi Police, during COVID-19 lockdown, the two returned to their respective homes, and started living again in Dwarka area once the lockdown ended. "The accused did not inform his family members about his relationship. His family was pressurising him to get to married to another woman... His engagement and marriage was fixed for 9 and 10 February," said Special CP Yadav.
Police claimed that Sahil did not inform Nikki about his marriage plans, and when he was confronted about this by Nikki, he allegedly strangulated her.
The accused then went to his home and solemnised his marriage with another woman," the police statement added.
Chilling Reminder Of Shraddha Walkar Case
Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) Chairperson Swati Maliwal, in a tweet, pointed that the incident followed the Shraddha Walkar case, where the deceased was allegedly murdered by her live-in partner.
"A few months ago, the heart-wrenching Shraddha murder case shook the humanity. Now, a girl named Nikki Yadav was killed by her boyfriend, who kept the dead body in the fridge and married someone else. Very scary, how long will girls continue to die like this," she tweeted.
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)