A man was arrested for allegedly strangulating his live-in partner to death and storing her body in a refrigerator in the Indian capital of Delhi, police said on Tuesday, adding that he married another girl the very same day.
According to the Crime Branch unit, the accused was identified as Sahil Gehlot, 24, while the deceased was identified as Nikki Yadav. They were in a relationship for a few years.
Gehlot Strangulated Yadav with a Data Cable
The police said that Gehlot killed the victim and married another woman on the same day. The incident took place on the intervening night of February 9 and 10.
"The accused strangulated the deceased with the help of a data cable of his mobile in his car on the intervening night of 9/10 February 2023 and stuffed the dead body in a refrigerator kept at his dhaba (restaurant) at Mitraon village, Delhi. The accused and the deceased were in a relationship for the past few years," Ravindra Singh Yadav, Special Commissioner of Police said.
The police said that they started investigating about the incident on Feb 10 after Yadav's family said they had not heard from her, following which the team reached the Mitraon village in search of Gehlot, who was absconding. He was later apprehended from another nearby village. The police said that he tried to mislead the team during the initial interrogation.
"But on sustained interrogation, he disclosed that he had killed his girlfriend in the intervening night of 9 & 10 February 2023 and kept her dead body in a refrigerator at his dhaba in a vacant plot situated on the outskirts of village Mitraon," the police said.
Gehlot and Yadav Met at a Coaching Centre, Fell in Love
Police said that Gehlot and Yadav used to meet while going to a coaching centre in Uttam Nagar and became friends before starting a romantic relationship.
"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 BA (English Hons.). Thereafter, both of them started living together in Greater Noida in a rented house. They became very close to each other and also travelled to several places such as Manali, Rishikesh, Haridwar, Dehradoon etc," the police said.
"During Covid lockdown, they returned to their homes and after end of the lockdown, they again started living together in a rented house in the Dwarka area," the police added.
Gehlot's Family was Pressuring Him into Marriage
Gehlot's family members did not know about his relationship with Yadav and were coercing him into marrying another girl. "Finally in Dec. 2022, the engagement and marriage of the accused with another girl were fixed for 09.02.2023 & 10.02.2023, respectively. The accused did not inform the deceased about his engagement or marriage plans," the police said.
However, according to the police, Yadav came to know about the marriage and confronted Gehlot. He had taken her out on the pretext that they would head out to a hill station and the marriage news were untrue. However, Yadav was not convinced, which led to a heated argument between the couple.
"The accused strangulated the deceased with the help of a data cable of his mobile phone kept in his car. Thereafter, he went to the dhaba owned by him and put her dead body in a refrigerator," the police said. He then married another girl. "Since it was his wedding, the dhaba remained closed for the next two days," the police added. A case of murder and destruction of evidence has been registered against Gehlot.
