Delhi: Man released after seven years in jail for murder of woman who is alive

In November 2018, 19-year-old Soni Kumar alias Chhoti—presumed dead—walked into her parents’ home in Ranchi

It started with a horrific discovery on the morning of May 4, 2018.

The case against Manjeet Karketa and his friends spans five chargesheets, including four supplementary ones, filed over seven years. (Representational image/Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Delhi Police were alerted to a child’s severed head floating in a ditch in Mianwali Nagar, near Peera Garhi in west Delhi. In subsequent searches, investigators then found the victim’s torso, and limbs inside a bag with a knife. The police lodged an FIR stating the deceased was aged around 15 or 16. The victim, believed to be 15 or 16 years old, remained unidentified. Investigators concluded she was murdered and her body cut into five pieces.

Locals pointed fingers at a group of men from the area. They claimed a woman—recently seen working nearby—had been killed. That woman was 19-year-old Soni Kumar alias Chhoti.

Unable to trace her, police on May 17 arrested her employer, Manjeet Karketa, who ran a placement agency. Three of his friends—Rakesh Singh, Gauri, and Shalu—were soon picked up on charges of murder and destruction of evidence. The motive: the woman had demanded her pending wages.

But six months later, the case turned on its heels.

In November 2018, Soni—presumed dead—walked into her parents’ home in Ranchi. She told them she had quit Manjeet’s job and had been living at an NGO in Gurugram. Though the investigation was thoroughly discredited, the accused were not released.

Manjeet and Rakesh were eventually freed. But Gauri and Shalu remained in jail seven years after the murder—of someone who was alive.

In April 2025, while hearing Manjeet’s bail plea, Delhi Police told a court that forensic reports were still awaited and his role in the murder was still under investigation.

But the court granted bail, noting no motive or solid evidence had emerged. “The investigation shocks the conscience of this court,” the judge said. “The dead body remains unidentified. Not just the investigator, but senior police officers failed to supervise the probe diligently,” the court observed.

The case against Manjeet and his friends spans five chargesheets, including four supplementary ones, filed over seven years. The chargesheets contained disclosure statements of locals spotting Manjeet with a woman, a CCTV grab showing the backs of two men walking, among other details.

What’s in the five chargesheets?

During investigation, police recorded statements of three locals who became main witnesses in the case – as per chargesheets accessed by HT.

In the first chargesheet, filed on August 8, 2018, police cited three local witnesses who claimed to have seen Manjeet with a young woman matching the victim’s description.

The police also traced Soni’s family and her brother identified the body as his sister’s, saying they hadn’t been in contact for months.

Police added CCTV footage of two men, supposedly Manjeet and Rakesh, walking away from the crime scene. A rod, knife, and mesh allegedly bearing blood traces were recovered from Manjeet’s Jwalapuri home. A woman’s salwar was found on his rooftop – police said this belonged to the victim.

But everything changed when Soni was found alive on November 23. Her brother admitted to having “thought” the body was hers. Yet, in January 2019—two months after her return, which investigators knew about—police filed a supplementary chargesheet still naming Manjeet and his friends as Soni’s killers.

That document included a report from the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) stating that the blood found at Manjeet’s home “matched” the body. Police also cited phone location data placing Manjeet in the area.

The second supplementary chargesheet, filed three months later, finally admitted Soni was alive. She told police she had been moved across homes, eventually being admitted into an NGO by the Gurugram police. Her brother said he was confused at the time of identification.

This chargesheet revised the victim’s identity to “unknown”.

As the Covid-induced global pandemic stalled the courts in 2020, the case drifted. Rakesh was released in 2021 to decongest jails. Others remained behind bars.

In February 2023, police filed a third supplementary chargesheet, detailing Shalu’s arrest. They claimed Manjeet confessed to the murder and led police to Shalu. Witnesses said Manjeet and Gauri were seen with the victim before her death. In this charge sheet, police also stated that they have sought an FSL analysis of the CCTV grab they found.

A fourth supplementary chargesheet followed in June 2023. This time, two witnesses amended their statements, confirming Soni was alive and that the woman seen with the accused only “looked like her”. The FSL report, however, was still pending.

In December 2023, Manjeet’s lawyer pushed for a bail but it was dismissed by trial court.

Lapses in a probe

Over the next year, Manjeet’s lawyer lawyer, Sundeshwar Lal, challenged the evidence: “The rod and knife had no blood at the time of seizure. The CCTV footage only shows backs of men—how can police say it’s Manjeet? Nobody can see any face in the video.”

On January 8, 2024, Lal moved Delhi high court seeking Manjeet’s release on bail.

The matter was picked up in April. Delhi Police told court that investigators had testimonies that Manjeet was “last seen” with a woman near the site.

The court, however, granted Manjeet bail.

“Motive is key to establish a chain of circumstantial evidence. It must relate to the deceased. Here, the deceased is still unidentified. The ‘last seen’ theory relied on Soni—who is alive,” the judge said.

A senior officer confirmed the FSL report is still pending. Police said they have now been directed to investigate the identity of the actual victim and look for “other suspects”.